


Dependent

by birdsongblue



Series: Despondent/Dependent [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Graphic Description of Wounds, Injury, Medical Procedures, Natural Disasters, Panic Attacks, Prescription Medication Withdrawal, Serious Injuries, Withdrawal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-23 00:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 34,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdsongblue/pseuds/birdsongblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Despondent.</p><p>Ten years after his diagnosis, Leo's depression has been kept in check through constant treatment. Life is normal for Leonardo, and his instability has faded into everyone's distant memories. When a dangerous situation arises, Leo's illness is the last thing on their minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

"Casey Jones...has arrived!" A voice boomed, echoing off the tunnel walls and into the lair. Sounds of crashing accompanied the entrance of the young man. Everyone cringed as a loud shriek escaped Mikey's mouth, ducking as a hockey puck flew past his head and collided with a street sign that was mounted on the wall. The loud clang hung in the air until Mikey got up from his crouch and pointed angrily at Casey.

"Casey, we told you, no roller blades in the lair!" Mikey shouted. He glanced behind him, and his eyes widened in surprise. He stared forlornly at the dented piece of wall art and yelled "and stop breaking our things!" 

Casey stomped into the room indignantly. "Aww, Mikey I was just messing around!" he said, clearly annoyed that he was being lectured by the prankster himself. 

"Michalangelo is right," said Splinter calmly. "Our belongings do tend to be severely damaged after your visits, Mr. Jones." 

"Casey, you are such a dork!" April said, looking back over the couch cushions where she was sitting with Leo. Her laptop was between the two of them, and had various building schematics spread across the screen. 

A stream of protests came out of his mouth as he began to make his way to the beanbag chair across from the television. Suddenly, his shoe caught on a seam in the flooring, and he crashed down the small staircase with a yelp. 

Mikey let out another horrified scream as Casey's elbow crunched into a box of VCR tapes by the couch. 

Frantically, Mikey pushed Casey's sprawled form away from the box and picked up a shard of the black plastic. With a shaking hand, he brought the shard up to his face. "Y-you...MONSTER!!!" Mikey picked up the box and sprinted away, his cries of "DONNIE!!! EMERGENCYYY!!!" fading down the hallway. 

Raph poked his head out from the garage, where he was working on his bike. "What happened now?", he asked sarcastically. His eyes widened at the sight of Casey, sprawled face down on the small staircase, with shattered black plastic by his arm. 

Fighting a grin, Raph coughed briefly to stifle a laugh. "Oookaay...hey Case, you alright?" Casey answered with a groan and held a thumbs up over his head briefly. 

Splinter sent Raph a pointed look and nodded his head towards the entrance of the lair. "Hey Casey, let's go topside, get some air." Casey nodded his head as he picked himself up from the floor and headed for the turnstiles. Raph grabbed his skateboard and jogged after his friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wheels skittered against gravel as the pair raced through the tunnels. The sound suddenly grew louder, and Raph looked back in confusion. 

"Heh, hey guys..." Mikey called out over the sound of scraping wheels coming to a stop. "I heard you were going out, and I didn't really want to stay in the lair, so..." 

"It's cool man," said Casey. He dropped his gaze to the floor. "Look, I'm really sorry about breaking your movies." 

"Oh, right!" Mikey exclaimed cheerfully. Casey shot a very puzzled look at Raph, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. "It's cool! Donnie said that the film tape stuff wasn't damaged, and he could just put it inside a different case." 

"Oh." Casey grinned, and turned to face the empty tunnel. "Race you guys to the surface!" With that, he shot off towards the nearest exit. "Hey!" Raph and Mikey yelled indignantly, chasing quickly after him. 

When he was still a good 20 feet away from the exit, faint rumbling reached Casey's ears. Casey halted unexpectedly, rollerblades shrieking in protest. He put his hand up to signal the others to do the same. Raph and Mikey immediately got in a defensive stance. "What is it?" Raph hissed sharply. 

Small cracking sounds came from the top of the tunnel, and they all looked up as dust fell from the cracks and onto their faces. Tiny chunks of cement began falling around them as realization hit. A larger section slammed down near Mikey's foot, crushing the skateboard alongside it. 

"Get out of the way, it's gonna fall!" The three sprinted towards the manhole cover at the end of the tunnel as the loud rumbling began, sending huge sections of concrete to collapse around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, life is very busy for me, so expect slow updates. My sincerest apologies to all of you. I wish I could devote all of my time to this, it is so much more fun than all my obligations...you are fabulous people, have a wonderful day!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Donnie shook his head and blinked his eyes blearily. Rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes, he muttered "Screen is going blurry again..." 

He kicked off the floor and sent his chair rolling over to a metal table lined with beakers. He folded his arms and sat his chin on top, watching smooth ripples cross the surface of the cloudy blue solution. 

His head shot up and he stared more intently at the liquid. Just as the surface of the liquid escalated from soft ripples to waves, clattering from every beaker and tool against their surfaces began. 

Donnie sprinted to his computer to pull up the Richter program, but before he reached it, a chunk of the wall crashed on top, destroying the high tech equipment. The shattering of beakers was soon drowned out by the deep rumble and splitting sound of concrete. 

Don dove under the lab table and crouched down, protecting his head. His eyes shut tightly at the deafening crack of the ceiling giving way and colliding with the unyielding surface of the metal table. 

Heavy chunks of concrete dropped all over the lab, destroying various projects and books. Donnie stared at his lab in horror before a large slab dropped in front of his view. 

Wincing at the sudden bang, Donnie opened his eyes slowly, blinking away dust. Confused at the sudden dimness, fear knotted in his stomach as realization hit. The small table was surrounded by broken concrete. He was trapped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"No, April...I think that might be the utilities room. See? An air vent connects directly there..." He traced the white line with his finger. April nodded slowly, processing the idea. "But there is a smaller room over here that also has an air vent." 

"Huh, yeah. That could be..." Leo faded off as he pulled the laptop closer and began sorting through more pages. April groaned and stood up, cracking her back in the process. She hissed through her teeth in discomfort, raising her arms above her head and stretching out stiff muscles. 

She rolled her neck a few times and started to walk out of the room. "I'm gonna go use the bathroom, I'll be back in a minute." Leo nodded his head distractedly.

April padded down the hallway and into the bathroom. Often, April was shocked at how similar the turtles' home was to the ones on the surface. A slightly spotted mirror hung on the wall with a lamp mounted above it. The counter top was covered in small white and blue tiles, and next to the ceramic sink were four toothbrushes and a bar of soap. 

April walked around the large room, glancing at the row of shower heads on the other side of the room. "Okay, not completely the same..." Parts were like her house, and parts were more like a gym, she concluded. Finishing up, April washed her hands and splashed water on her face. 

She reached over to the cupboard where there were clean towels and pulled one out. Something clattered to the floor from the cupboard, and April picked it up hastily, wiping her face absentmindedly. "This is a prescription bottle!" She whispered in surprise. Parts of the label were scratched off, but the name of the drug was still visible "...Zoloft?" April questioned to herself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Splinter heard their voices drift into the kitchen where he was preparing a meal for that night. The boys had eaten enough pizza this week, so he decided to make a traditional Japanese meal. 

It was a family favorite, and Leo and April needed a break from studying the blueprints of the potential Purple Dragon bases. Splinter shook his head. Every time their family seemed to gain a victory, everything would slide back downhill again. 

The soft conversation in the other room faded into silence. Splinter set a pot on the stove and set the water to boil. The gas sputtered into a small flame that brushed the bottom of the metal gently. Then, unexpectedly, the pot began to rattle on the stove.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April tucked the medicine back into the cabinet and hung up the towel to dry before leaving the room. She nearly yelped in surprise when her feet left the bathroom rug and hit frigid cement. "Next time, I will remember to wear socks," she vowed silently. 

Despite living in the sewers, the Hamato household followed Japanese customs. When anyone visited, they were supposed to take off their shoes. She quickly ran back to the couch and vaulted over the back, ignoring the stairs. Once she was seated, she folded her legs under her to warm her feet. "Aren't you guys cold blooded?!" she exclaimed. "HOW on earth do you guys not freeze to death down here?" 

Leo glanced over at her and smirked. "One word April." He got up and walked over to a large chest alongside the television. "Blankets." He tossed one to her, which she accepted gratefully. Leo was walking back over to the couch when he paused, glancing up at the ceiling in confusion. Small amounts of dust were trickling through cracks. 

"Uh, those weren't there before, right Leo?" Before he could answer, a deafening crack blasted through the lair. Leo's face paled, and he hurled himself towards April. Her breath left her lungs harshly as Leo launched into her. His shoulder slammed into her stomach as she was knocked off the couch and thrown to the ground. 

Everything was a blur, and somehow she had ended up under a table, with Leo on top of her. Every one of his muscles were tensed, as if bracing for an attack. "Cuh...hhuh...L-leo? What?" Leo's face was directly over her, their foreheads nearly touching. "Uggh...s-stay down April. It's an earthquake." She peered through Leo's mask tails at the room, which was crumbling before her eyes. 

A gigantic piece of the celieng fell near the doorway to the kitchen, blocking the exit, and April gasped in dismay. The rumble escalated to a deafening roar, and any sense of time left them. Among the chaos, the lights flashed brightly and then faded, leaving them in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

Pieces of concrete pummeled Casey as he rushed towards the manhole cover. He threw his arms up to shield his head, and glanced back at the others. Mikey was almost alongside him, and he winced as a large stone fell on his shoulder. 

"Raph! You need to go faster!" Raph's breath came out heavier as he tried to pull forward in a panic. Casey grabbed the rungs of the ladder and threw himself upward, his hand colliding with the cover and sending it flying to the side. He shot out as quickly as he could and reached down to get Mikey out faster.

Raph reached the ladder, breathing heavily, and began to climb up. Mikey and Casey each grabbed one of his hands and pulled him out as quickly as they could. They landed in a heap as the ground beneath them shook violently. Casey breathed a sigh of relief that was suddenly interrupted by a scream of pain. 

Mikey and Casey jumped up in shock, and backed away from Raph as they processed the scene. Raph was curled up, clutching at his left leg, which was halfway inside the tunnel. As he was lying on his back, his leg had been left dangling in the manhole as the tunnel had collapsed. 

"Raph!" Mikey knelt down next to his brother, who was shaking violently. He reached into the manhole, only to discover that Raph's leg was surrounded by concrete up to his knee. Raph tried to pull his leg away from the source of the pain in jerky movements. "AAAGHH!" 

Mikey grabbed Raph's shoulders to stop him and stared at him fearfully. "DUDE! Don't do that Raph! You need to stay still!" His face was wound up in a grimace, tears rolling down his face as pain kept throbbing up his leg. He struggled to sit up, and Mikey placed his hand on his carapace, pulling him up gently. Staring at Raph's hands, which were clutching at his leg desperately, Mikey wished that Donnie was here. 

Casey tentatively moved forward. "W-what should we d-do? Raph, y-your leg..." Raph turned his watery eyes towards Casey in a scowl. "I k-know a-already!" Mikey bent down over the manhole, examining the rocks surrounding Raph's leg. 

He pulled out his nunchucks and released the kusarigama blade. Placing the blade between the rocks, he started working the small ones free. Ignoring the sounds of pain coming from Raph, Mikey extracted every chunk of cement he could get loose and tossed it to the side. 

Reaching a larger slab, Mikey glanced at Raph, who was biting down on one of his sai handles. "Raph, I'm going to have to break a few of these rocks, okay?" Raph nodded, his jaw clenching in anticipation. Mikey retracted the blade, and began breaking the cement apart with the ends of his nunchucks. Finally, Raph's leg pulled loose, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. 

Casey pulled Raph away from the manhole, and laid him in the middle of the street. Mikey knelt down next to him, nervous about being out in the open. There really wasn't much they could do about it, they needed to be in a place where debris couldn't fall on them. 

He placed his hands on Raph's leg, which was swollen to nearly twice its normal size, and felt the bruised surface. Raph gasped in pain, and Mikey pulled his hands away. "Raph, your leg is in really bad shape." 

"Y-you don't think I k-know that!?", he spat out angrily. "Casey, " Mikey said nervously. "I need you to find some straight boards. We need to splint Raph's leg." Raph groaned in horror. "I'm fine, I don't need to be babied." He stood up shakily on his right leg, and carefully tried to place his left foot on the ground as well. 

As soon as his toe touched the asphalt, he collapsed in pain. "Suuure you don't Raph." Casey responded sarcastically. "You've only shattered over half of the bones in your leg, no biggie!" Mikey sat next to Raph while Casey found some boards. After a few minutes, a winded Casey came sprinting back around the corner, holding up various pieces of wood. "I...huh...found some!" 

Mikey sifted through the small pile and placed two boards on either side of Raph's leg. "Hey, Raph? You're going to want your sai again." With that, Mikey lined up one of the boards and held on to his brothers ankle, lining up the leg as gently as he could. He could feel the bones jostling underneath the bruised skin, and Raph's screams made it past the handle he was biting. 

"Hey Casey, could I have your jacket? You, um, won't get it back..." Casey pulled the jacket over his head wordlessly and handed it to Micky without a second thought. Mikey sliced the jacket into long strips and tied them securely around the splint, effectively immobilizing the bone. Raph groaned and took the sai out of his mouth. "T-that was n-not fun." 

Mikey reached down and draped Raph's arm over his shoulder, hoisting him up. "We need to find a way home" he announced. "Donnie will be able to do a lot more for your leg, and we need to get to him before it gets worse. "Right. Okay" Casey responded, supporting Raph's other side. The three got out of the street and into a wide alleyway, out of sight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but the next chapter will be really good!

Chapter Four

Splinter brushed the dust off his robes as the stone settled. The kitchen had lost bits of the ceiling, but was otherwise fine. He moved out of the doorway to the tunnels and back into the darkened room slowly. Making his way through the shadows, Splinter fished out a large flashlight from a drawer under the counter. The light clicked on and illuminated a patch of ground, casting shadows across the walls. He fumbled with the beam of light until it landed on the doorway to the living area. 

"Leonardo! April! Are you both al-" He choked on his words as he saw that the doorway had been filled with concrete. He rushed over to the ruins of the doorway and yells at the stone. "Leonardo! April! Answer me!" Splinter paused, waiting for a response, but nothing came. 

He placed his hands on the obstructions before him, intending to tear the stone away before stopping himself. "Leonardo, wait for me, I am going to find a way to reach you!" He cast the light all over the wall, searching for an opening and leaves the room, following the perimeter of the room desperately. Panic filled his chest the longer he searched, and then Splinter froze. "Donatello!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Huuuu...huUuu..." Donatello reached down and kneaded his cramping legs carefully, avoiding bumping the rocks encasing him. A muscle along his back and up into his neck spasmed painfully, and Donatello hugged his knees to his chest even tighter. He was dimly aware that his breathing was becoming more harsh and ragged as claustrophobia set in. 

Pressure built up behind his forehead as he struggled to drag air into his aching lungs. Tears of panic began streaming from his eyes, and he felt adrenaline rush through his limbs, prodding his body to do something other then wait. The urge to tear apart the rocks surrounding him intensified, and he almost acted against his best judgement. 

Statistics of survival began running through his mind, and with the oxygen diminishing in the small enclosed space, things weren't looking spectacular. Donatello stretched out a shaking hand, prepared to shove the rubble aside and most likely send tons of concrete slamming on the appendage when he heard a voice calling his name through the thundering pulse in his ears. "S-Sensei?", he whispered in shock. 

"Master Splinter! I'm in here! Under my lab table!" He heard rocks being dragged away and tucked his body into itself tighter, covering his head. After several minutes, Donatello winced up into a beam of light shining through a space in the stones. "Father!" Donnie gasped out in relief. He was going to make it. 

"Hold on Donatello, do not move." Splinter worked on carefully widening the space and then reached down and pulled his son's shaking form from the rubble. Dust clung to his son's face, staining the dried tear tracks a pale brown, and the cold sweat caused the light to bounce off his skin. Donnie stretched out on the ground, breathing deeply to calm his nerves before standing up. 

His muscles promptly cramped in protest, and Splinter steadied him in case his body decided that the floor would be a nice place to collapse. Hissing in pain, Donatello reached down and tried to massage out the knots in his legs, causing more to grow in his shoulders and back. "H-how long w-was I stuck?" Splinter thought a moment before responding. 

"I'm not entirely sure. I don't know when the quake began...or ended for that matter. But, it was most likely over an hour." Splinter sighed heavily in guilt. "I must admit, in my worry for your brother and April, I nearly forgot that you were in the lair as well." Donatello's eyes became huge as dread creeped in. "W-what? What about Leo and April?!" 

Splinter looked Donatello in the eyes calmly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was in the kitchen when the shock hit, and Leo and April were both in the main room. After things became calm, I tried to find a way to reach them, but the entryway had collapsed." Donatello walked blindly towards the doorway of his lab. 

"Show me. We have to get them out, or at least get them fresh air. The room might be completely sealed off for all we know..." Splinter followed his son quickly, shining the light ahead of them so no more injuries would occur. Finally, after picking their way through rubble, they reached the kitchen. 

Donatello placed his hands on the stone filling the entrance carefully and began examining the structural integrity of the stone. "There." He said confidently. "If we drill very carefully there, we should be able to see inside the room." He walked over to the kitchen drawers and pulled out a marker before drawing a dark slash across the stone.

"If the opening is stable enough, we will be able to widen it enough to give supplies to April and Leo." Donnie capped the marker and began to walk back to his lab. "I need to find a way to pump oxygen in there too..." Splinter felt some tension ease away at the comfort of having a sound plan, even if it was temporary. He glanced back at the marked stone before following his son to get the tools.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Notes are at the bottom. Read them if you want to, I guess.

Chapter Five

April stared up into the darkness as she felt Leo's breath graze her forehead. The rumbling had stopped, and it seemed as if the rocks had finally stilled. Leo gingerly rolled off of April and out from under the table. "Leo, it isn't safe..." April started. 

"April, we need to see if there is a way out of here. We need to get to the others." She flipped onto her stomach and scooted out from under the table, feeling her way. When she stood up fully, she turned her head, staring hard into the darkness. "Where are you?" 

She heard some shuffling, and Leo responded, "Over here April. Feel your way over here to the wall." She followed his voice until her fingertips crashed into his neck. He gently guided her hands to the wall, which was no longer smooth. "Oh my..." April breathed. "The entire room has fallen apart!" 

She felt her way along the rocky surface slowly, following Leo until they had made their way around the entire room. Leo groaned in frustration, and kicked something that clattered across the floor. April shuffled over to where she last heard Leo and patted his arm hesitantly. 

After a minute, Leo's hand landed heavily on her shoulder, trembling slightly. With a moan, he swayed to the side and slipped towards the floor. "Leo!" April scraped her hands along his shell in an effort to prevent him from hitting the ground. Her arm slid along his back until it settled behind Leo's neck. She crouched down, slowing his fall and supported Leo's limp figure on her knees. "Leo, what happened?" 

April paused, and when she heard no response, she felt her way to his neck. Feeling a steady pulse, April shook Leo's form gently. She quickly patted down Leo's body, searching for an injury with her fingers. She stopped just below Leo's knee when her fingers jostled the object protruding there. 

Leo's breath hitched, and she apologized under her breath before continuing. She mapped out the area much more gently, and found a thin piece of metal embedded in Leo's calf. Liquid is covering his leg, and April felt dread sink in her stomach.

April rubbed the stickiness off her hands and onto the concrete beneath them. Carefully, she cleared the rubble away before lying Leo down on the ruined surface. "Hang on Leo, I'll be right back."

Feeling her way over to the couch, a sigh of exasperation left her lips when she realized that the couch had been demolished. She tore the cushions free and ripped pieces of blanket from the wood and stone. April then laid out the cushions next to Leo and shook him gently. "I am going to move you...please don't freak out." 

She heaved him onto the makeshift bed and grabbed a long piece of blanket. "Leo..." She shook his shoulder gently, "Leo, I'm going to stop the bleeding, okay? Leo groaned, and taking that as consent, she slid the fabric just above his knee and knotted it as tightly as she could. 

"Leo, should I take it out? I-I don't know what to do!" April's voice trembled in hysteria. "Guuh...it..i-it will be okay April. Just...d-don't lose your head." Leo ground his teeth hard, and the scraping sound seemed like the loudest thing in the world. April stood up in determination. "I am going to find a way out of here!" She picked her way across the room again, and felt around the rocks. 

"April, don't!" Leo shouted as he heard small pebbles hitting the ground. "We have to sit tight. The others will get us out. Uuhhgn...w-we can't shift the rocks...they m-might fall on us!" April stopped and made her way back over to Leo on all fours. She pressed on his plastron gently, forcing him to lie back down. "Okay...okay. We will wait for the others. But Leo, what if they are trapped just like us? We HAVE to get out!"

"I don't know April. B-but if they are t-trapped, we will know. If no one comes f-for us, w-we will know..." Leo breathed deeply through his nose, willing the pain away. "If n-no one has made contact w-with us after a day or so, we will t-try to get out on our own again." 

April choked back a sob as she sat down heavily above Leo's head. She felt a hand brush her knee, and immediately caught it in her own, clutching it tightly. "I-it will be okay...we w-will get out o-of this alive...I promise..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, I have to stop and think about what a nut I am!  
> Now, I enjoy putting a lot of effort into my writing, and the action and tension is still building. But there comes a point where I can let...research...for my story get out of hand...
> 
> So. For upcoming chapters...keep in mind that I am a crazy woman and am writing parts of Leo's pov based on first hand experience. Yep. 
> 
> I could have gone to the Internet, buutt I felt like it would lead to inaccuracies. So I kinda..yeah... I don't think I'm the only one who has done something like that though...FOR SCIENCE!!! ahem, I mean fanfiction...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapters, but I figured, shorter chapters means faster updates! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Chapter Six

Concern for Raph drove them forward. They were barely able to block out the cries for help as they moved through the shadows, staying out of sight. Although there were not many people around to spot them, Mikey kept his guard up, his senses on extremely high alert. 

There was chaos out in the streets, the sounds of hysteria floating down the alleyways. Mikey ignored the screaming of his instincts to go and help these people, because they needed to get home. Raph was getting worse by the minute, and his face had become incredibly pale after they had checked the fifth sewer entrance. 

Disappointment had greeted them each time they checked an entrance, finding every one of the tunnels in exactly the same shape as the last. "Come on Raph, just hold on a little while longer..." Casey muttered, listening to the faint, rasping breaths of his friend. 

Raph, who had started off resisting the support of the arms keeping him upright, was now mostly being carried instead. His attempts at moving were halfhearted, and dragging Raph along was getting more difficult. 

Sweat shone on his skin as he shivered in response to the pain shooting up his leg. Mikey was briefly aware that something knocked him on the side of his leg, before realizing that it was his brother's. 

His eyes widened, and he quickly glanced toward Raph, who had let out a weak yelp. His skin paled even further, and his leg gave out as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Mikey and Casey grunted at the added weight as Raph's body became boneless. 

"Raph!" Mikey reached over and slapped at his unresponsive brother's cheek in an attempt to rouse him. Raph didn't show any signs of alertness, and he didn't even wince when Mikey's palm met his face. 

"Casey, I'm going to need you to go ahead of us a little, got it?" Mikey's tone was uncharacteristically serious, and Casey handed Raph off to him without a word before sprinting across the street. Mikey panted with exertion and pulled Raph's limp form up so that his arms were looped around his neck. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The surface was in horrible condition, as buildings had partially collapsed, trapping people inside. 

Looking at the damage above ground, Casey could only imagine what had happened in the lair. Based on every manhole entrance they had found completely collapsed, he knew that there wasn't much hope of the lair faring any better. 

They had been checking the entrances to tunnels that eventually connected to the lair. Mikey explained that, if they could find a tunnel that wasn't collapsed for at least some of its length, that one of them would have an opening to the lair. 

Casey worried that the lair might be completely cut off. He also doubted that there would be anyone to help them if they managed to make it back, but he didn't dare voice his thoughts. 

Casey darted forward as they reached yet another manhole cover and dragged it to the side. He yelped in astonishment as the sight of a ladder descending into a dark tunnel greeted him instead of crumbled concrete. "Yo, Mikey! We found one!" 

Mikey crept out of the alleyway with Raph on his back. "Don't go in. I'll check it out." Casey sat down next to the manhole as Mikey transferred the unconscious turtle. Casey pulled Raph up so that his head and upper back rested on his legs. 

"I've got him Mikey. Be careful, alright? I don't want to have to lug two turtles back to the lair." Not to mention facing said turtles father, Casey thought with a shiver. 

Mikey lowered himself into the tunnel and his second lid slid up over his eyes as he peered into the darkness. After his vision adjusted, he cautiously ventured deeper into the tunnel. 

There were bits of the ceiling that had fallen to the floor, making the path unpredictable, but at least the tunnel had not completely collapsed. He walked a bit further before turning back, satisfied that it went where they needed it to go. Mikey winced at the light as he reached the ladder.

He pulled himself back up to street level and reported to Casey. "It looks like this tunnel collapsed a little bit to the east, but it was pretty stable around this area!" Casey nodded and allowed Mikey to heave Raph to a sort of upright position. 

After Casey was sure Mikey had a good hold on Raph, he jumped down into the tunnel. "Mikey, lower Raph down, and I will help from down here." 

Mikey gently set Raph down, being mindful of his leg, and scooted his legs into the manhole. "The tunnel looks like it could lead us to the lair!" Mikey chattered excitedly. 

Casey's voice drifted up through the round hole as he reached for Raph's good leg. "I'm just glad we are getting somewhere! I didn't think we would find anything..." 

Mikey grunted in agreement as he got a good hold of his brother, looping his elbows under Raph's arms. He bent over the manhole, holding Raph steady until, finally, the weight decreased as Casey lowered him down. "Guh! Raph just kneed me in the nose...ow." 

Mikey slid his hands up to meet Raph's, and helped Casey lower him all the way down. "Alright, he's down." Casey called to Mikey. "Yes!" Mikey said between pants. "That...huh...wasn't so hard!" 

Mikey quickly joined Casey, and they both draped an arm over their shoulder. "The lair should be this way." Mikey began steering the group around the obstacles, making sure that Raph's leg didn't bump against anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a hard time writing Casey. I keep switching his personality in my head, because he is so different in all the versions I know of him...even the 2003 vs 2007 is like night and day. Don't get me started on 2012, so different.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I put a hint in this chapter about a major detail everyone will overlook! Try to find it! Muahahaha!

Chapter Seven

Splinter focused on holding the small drill steady as Donatello's fingers flew through the metal, securing wires and other components skillfully. He glanced up at his son's face and noticed that the tip of Donnie's tongue was peeking out from lips pursed in concentration. Warm amusement ran through him before focusing back on the drill. 

They had scoured the lab for hours, salvaging whatever useful bits they could find. Finally, Donatello had announced that he could start designing and building the delicate machine. 

A shout jerked Splinter from his thoughts, and Donatello's hands quivered slightly in surprise. He gently set down the wires as more shouts echoed from the entrance and stood up. "It sounds like Mikey is back." Splinter nodded in agreement, and they both hurried towards the shouting. As they turned the corner, they were met with a situation that would have been hilarious in different circumstances. 

"Casey, come ON! Just. Just get him sideways!" Mikey was crouching on top of a turnstile, holding a limp, pale Raph up under his arms. Casey was supporting Raph's lower body, trying to get through, or over the turnstiles with Raph. 

"Woah, guys! Stop!" Donnie shouted in alarm. He gently took Raph from the pair and handed him off to Splinter. "What happened?" He asked quietly, examining his brother's swollen leg. Mikey jumped off the turnstile and began explaining loudly. 

"There was an earthquake Donnie! We were skateboarding in the tunnels, when everything started to shake and fall apart!" Casey cut in, wanting to have a turn. "Yeah, and then there was a bunch of concrete everywhere, and we were running towards a ladder-"

"BUT..." Mikey had taken over again, shouldering Casey aside, "Raph was too slow and couldn't keep up. I got out first and helped Casey." The two began talking at the same time, until Donnie turned and shouted "ENOUGH!" The two stopped talking abruptly and shrank back from the irritated turtle. "Mikey, would you please finish what you were saying?" 

"S-sure thing Dee." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Me and Casey got out, and Raph made it to the ladder too. We both grabbed him and pulled him out. I thought everything was okay until he started screaming. His leg was still in the hole when the tunnel collapsed." 

Mikey's blue eyes shifted to the splint on Raph's leg. "I did what I could...will he be alright?" Donnie's expression softened at his younger brothers expression. "Hey, Mikey. You did good, okay?" Mikey nodded, his chin wobbling as the stress of the situation came crashing through the barriers he had set up to stay calm. 

Donnie walked over to Mikey and wrapped his long arms around his shaking shoulders. "Listen. Raph will be okay. Alright?" Mikey nodded, and rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. "O-okay." Donnie smiled reassuringly and led everyone into the lab. Donnie pulled a pile of sheets from a cabinet and cleared a space on the floor before setting the sheets down. Splinter set Raph on the makeshift bed carefully. 

"I'm surprised at how much of my supply storage is still useable!" Donnie exclaimed as he pushed concrete off of another cabinet. It had fallen face down, and the concrete busted a hole in the back. Donnie tore the broken wood away from the shelves and pulled out a bottle of plaster and a syringe. "Ha! Alright, let's get this thing started." 

He fished out a small bottle of painkillers and inserted the syringe into the vial, drawing the liquid into it carefully. Donnie poured some alcohol on the corner of one of the sheets and cleaned a small area of Raph's arm before injecting the medication. Donnie laid out the cotton for the cast alongside the swollen leg and carefully unwrapped the splint. 

He winced internally when he saw the massive amounts of blood that had gathered under the skin. "Mikey, can you get these out of the way?" Donnie gestured to the small pile of torn clothing and wood. Grateful to be helpful in any way, Mikey took the scraps out of Donnie's work area. Raph's leg was not a great thing to look at. The lumpy surface had none of its original color left, and instead was a mix of blue, purple, and black. 

At that moment, Donnie wished that he had an X-ray available. Instead, he gingerly placed his hands on the limb and prodded the bones back into alignment by touch. It was a good thing, he thought, that Raph was out for this. The bones scraped against each other, and the skin moved with the bone. Casey quickly excused himself from the room, his face ashen. 

Satisfied that the bone was set correctly, Donnie began wrapping Raph's leg in cotton before forming the plaster around it. After he had finished setting the cast, Donnie turned back to the drill. "His leg will be fine, but he will be horrible to live with for a while." Casey came cautiously back into the room. "Uhm, just so you guys know, your bathroom is...gone. It is full of cement. I kinda hurled in the hallway. What's that?" He asked, pointing towards the table. 

Donnie sighed. "While you guys were dealing with Raph, the earthquake caused he main room to collapse with Leo and April inside." Questions erupted from Mikey and Casey, demanding to know if they were all right or not. 

"Look! We don't know yet! But if they are in there somewhere, this will help us reach them." Donnie went back to the drill and began connecting the remaining pieces. "I was nearly done when you guys showed up, so we should be able to start drilling in around ten minutes." Donnie glanced up at the others in the room, an idea forming in his mind. 

"How about you guys go and find some things for April and Leo. They are going to need water first." They all nodded and headed to the kitchen to see if anything was useable. There was a pretty good chance that most everything would be fine. 

The kitchen wasn't hit hard, and Donnie always made sure that they had a ridiculously big emergency food storage. The risks of living under the city made it necessary. His family had been forced to evacuate their home, or even outright abandon it, more times than he could count. It was always either because of natural disasters or enemy threats. It was useful to have a supply of provisions ready at a moments notice. 

Donnie closed the panel with a click and powered the drill on carefully. The tip twirled and became a blur, sending a high pitched whine echoing into the kitchen. "Yes!" Donnie exclaimed before shutting the drill down and racing to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess what it is?!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Leo lay still in the darkness, listening for any sign of a rescue between April's breathing. He had noticed that her breaths had gotten harsher over the hours, and rubbed small circles on the back of her hand to calm her. 

Suddenly, the hand in his grasp jerked as the form next to him laid down, the breathing even more strained then before. "April?! What's wrong?" 

She managed to gasp out "I...think that the air in here...might be getting...thinner." Leo immediately began consciously slowing his breathing and body functions in an effort to save oxygen. 

"Just hold on, okay? Try to conserve your air." April shifted onto her side, facing Leo and nodded, an act pointless without light. "O-okay..." Time seemed to drag on forever in here, Leo thought. An hour felt like days. 

He tightened his hold on April's hand as she struggled for breath, and started to breathe internally. His mind involuntarily flashed back to the triceraton cargo bay. He drifted in and out until April spoke after a long silence. "L-Leo? I c-can't feel my f-fingers...or m-my lips...they f-feel tingly." 

Leo fought the panic back down as his heart leapt into his throat. "April, stay with me." He moved his hand up her arm, grasping her desperately above her elbow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie set the tip of the drill in the middle of the stone and powered it on slowly. The resulting sound of metal tearing apart rock sounded like nails on a chalkboard times twenty. Mikey and Casey, who were behind him, clamped their hands over their ears. 

Donnie had known that there would be a loud, unpleasant noise, so he had asked Splinter to stay in the lab and watch over Raph. The drill went deeper into the stone, muffling the sound until it became bearable. Donnie extended the drill even further, until, with a jerk, it broke through the other side. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A horrible screeching sound reached Leo's ears. The first thing that came to his mind was that the rubble was collapsing, but as the sound went on, his dread turned into excitement. "April! They are coming for us!" He came down from his internal breathing and breathed in the heavy air. 

Leo sat up painfully and, through gritted teeth, turned to crawl on his hands and knees. April tugged on his wrist weakly. "L-Leo, stop! You'll...hurt y-yourself!" She was right, he grunted in pain as the metal protruding from his leg brushed against the ground, and he lowered his head to the ground in an effort to stay conscious. "A-April. When the drilling stops, w-we need to get over to the hole, understand?" 

The shrieking sound suddenly escalated, causing Leo to slap his hands over his ears in pain. The sound bounced off the room, and then died down. Scraping sounded from the hole as the drill was eased out, and a light shone through it. "Leo? April? Are you in there?" 

It was Donnie! Leo nearly sobbed in relief. Of course it was Donnie. "Donnie! We're here, but April needs oxygen." Excited shouting drifted in from the other side, the voices distinctly belonging to Mikey and Casey. Donnie hesitantly reported above the noise, "I couldn't find any oxygen tanks, but just get her over here. Enough air should be coming through the hole." Leo turned back to April, and saw her eyes flutter open in the dim lighting. 

He realized, with a start, that he could SEE, and pointedly avoided looking at his leg. "Come on April, we need to move." With a grunt, he pulled her up and looped her arms around his neck, securing her before crawling across the floor. He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the piercing pain and liquid trickling down his leg. 

Finally, they reached the source of the light and set April down, positioning her face towards the hole. He sat down heavily next to her and pressed his face close to the cool air blowing in. 

April breathed deeply, feeling the numbness fade away and awareness returning. After a few minutes of hearing the two gulp in the air thankfully, Donnie cautioned them not to hyperventilate. 

"We have water, but don't drink it all just yet." His hand slid through the hole, pushing two water bottles through. April uncapped the bottle and downed the precious liquid, stopping herself before she drank the entire bottle. As Leo slowly sipped his water, April's eyes wandered down to his leg, and she gasped. 

"Donnie!" She looked through the hole, and his brown eyes filled her vision."What's wrong?" Tears filled her eyes, and she wished she could run into his comforting arms. "It's Leo. H-his leg..." She started to sob. The one person who could help was kept away by some stupid rocks! 

"I j-just wish...hic...I wish y-you were over here! You could h-help Leo." Donnie felt his eyes moisten, and he desperately wanted to hold April and tell her everything would be alright. "April, what happened to Leo's leg?" She glanced towards Leo who was wincing in anticipation, and met Donnie's eyes again. 

"H-he protected me...there was stuff falling everywhere, and he was on top of me. H-he got h-hurt instead o-of me!" She sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly. "He has a piece of metal stuck through his shin. I tried to stop the bleeding, but it won't stop! I don't know what to do!" 

Donnie took a deep breath before he exploded. "Leo! Why didn't you say something before?! That was so incredibly stupid, I can't believe that you CRAWLED over here! Helping April, no less!" 

"Do you know if it went through the bone?" April nodded. "I think part of it may have. Should I take it out?"

"Not yet, okay? I am going to get a camera to send the visuals to my laptop, that way I can see you guys from this side. Here, have these." 

He passed a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, followed by some honey and a flashlight." We will get you more as soon as we can, but sit tight for now, ok?" His face disappeared from the hole, but returned unexpectedly. "Oh, and try to keep Leo's leg elevated."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Donnie hurried into the lab, and saw that Splinter was talking quietly with an awake but dazed Raph. "Hey! You're awake!" He walked over to the side of the bed and laid his hand on Raph's shoulder gently. "How are you feeling? Any pain or nausea?" Raph's eyes focused on his brother's face blearily. 

"Ugh...no, but I feel reeeaally weird..." Donnie smiled and patted him roughly. "That's because of the drugs, but at least you aren't in any pain." Donnie cast a sideways glance at Splinter before muttering under his breath. "Did you tell him?" Splinter's ears twitched towards the sound, and he shook his head curtly. 

Okay, Donnie thought. I guess it's now or never. "Hey...Raph?" The red banded turtle tilted his head back towards his younger brother. "Yeah? Wassup?" Donnie sighed, and decided to break the news as gently as possible. 

"The earthquake...I just wanted to let you know that everyone survived..." Raph nodded. "That's good..." Donnie gently shook Raph to keep him awake, he was getting tired, and the drugs in his system weren't helping. "Leo and April are trapped in the rubble, but we will get them out. They'll be fine." 

Raph's hand reached up and patted his arm. "Of course they'll be fine. They have you on the job. They have the best backup anyone could ask for." With that, Raph patted his arm once more and drifted back off to sleep. Warmth spread through him, and a lump raised in his throat at the declaration. Why was everyone being so mushy?

Donnie stood up, cleared his throat and whispered. "Well. That went a lot better then I thought it would." Splinter nodded in agreement, softly tracing his exhausted son's palm. Donnie walked back over to the pile of undamaged supplies. "It must have been the drugs..." 

He knelt down and sifted through the pile until he found what he was looking for. "Aha!" He picked up the small camera and a thin piece of metal. "Oh, yeah. Hey, Sensei? I forgot to tell you, we reached April and Leo, but Leo has an injured leg. I can't treat it directly, but I will do what I can." 

Splinter nodded, his back still towards Donatello, who wasn't focusing on him either. Quickly, he bent and smoothed the metal into a circular shape and fastened the camera in the middle. "April should be able to wear this on her head," he explained to Splinter. "That way, I can see things from her perspective." He picked up a laptop and left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, April? How're you holding up? How about Leo?" Casey knelt next to the opening, and was talking loudly into it. "We are about as good as the last time you asked." April responded tiredly. Mikey gently came in to view. "How's Leo?" His eyes were lined with worry for his oldest brother. 

Leo's voice came up from the floor, where he was lying with his leg propped up. "I-I'm okay Mikey. What a-about everyone out there? Is everyone okay? I haven't h-heard Raph..." Mikey's eyes widened. 

"No one told you?!" His voice became shrill in suprise. "Raph is fine, he just has a broken leg. He has been passed out in Donnie's lab ever since we got back to the lair." 

"Yeah, update on that actually." Donnie entered the room, holding a laptop and something else, and pinning four more flashlights under his arm. "He just woke up for a minute. I updated him on your guys situations. He must have been really messed up from the drugs, he didn't even try to get out of bed!" 

Mikey and Casey stepped to the side, leaving space for Donatello to talk to April. "Hey, so I am going to hand you a camera, but you can wear it like a headlamp. It will send the feed to my laptop, and I will talk to you from this side, alright?" 

April nodded and reached her small hand into the space, and slid the camera from Donatello's grasp. "I got it," she said absently. Donnie spoke again, "Okay, I already turned it on, so just put on the headpiece." The video feed on his screen jostled and finally stilled. "Oh." Donnie turned back to the hole. 

"April, that is upside down...try flipping it the other way." A frustrated groan slipped through her lips, and April slid the camera off and flipped it around. "Is that better?" Donnie sat down next to the hole and pulled the laptop closer. "Yeah, now angle your head towards Leo." 

The screen blurred and stilled, an image of Leo's pained face filled the screen. The camera pierced through the shadows and gave a startlingly clear, nearly garish look to his older brothers face. It was streaked with dirt and dried tracks of sweat. "Leo, are you doing okay?" 

Leo chuckled, "I don't know if I would say okay, but I'm not dying, so that's something." The muscle in his jaw jumped, his teeth clenching as the pain throbbed up his leg. "Alright, April, turn me towards his leg please." 

Casey and Mikey crowded around the screen suddenly, and donatello quickly threw his large hands up to cover it. "Guys! I don't know that it would be in your best interest to see this! I don't even know how bad it is yet! And Casey! You hurled at a broken leg! Get out of here!" 

The two backed away, and Mikey went to sit against the opposite wall while Casey slinked to the lab to check on Raph. Steeling himself for the worst, Donnie removed his hands from the screen. 

The green skin of Leo's shin was slicked with blood, a constant flow making its way around a piece of steel buried there. The steel protruded about three inches above Leo's leg, and the area where it disappeared into the shin was torn. 

"Leo, are you kidding me? It looks like you purposely dragged that bar on the ground. It got pulled downwards! It was cutting into your shin and making the wound larger!" Donnie studied the wound carefully. "This would have been a clean impale wound if you hadn't moved around so much..." 

The image turned to Leo's face as April glared at him. A hand shot out on the screen and punched Leo in the arm. April's voice rang out angrily. "Stupid! You shouldn't have tried to help so much!" Leo winced and rubbed his arm. "S-sorry guys." 

April turned back to his leg. "April, see if the bar goes all the way through." Leo groaned as his leg was lifted up. A small corner of metal poked out from the torn skin on the underside of the leg. With a groan, Donnie stood up, stretching out his back. 

"Okay, well that's better than it could be. At least we won't have to cut any metal off from the other side." The screen turned to show the bottom of his shell, and he spun around quickly, lowering himself so April was looking at his face. "I will be right back. Now that I know what we will need, I'm going to get all the supplies and equipment together."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys. I am going to be honest with you, just like I was with Casey in the previous chapter. If you don't handle graphic injuries well, or medical procedures, this chapter is NOT for you. Thanks for reading!

Chapter Ten

Leo's leg felt like it was on fire. White hot agony pulsed up his leg with every heartbeat. He glanced at April quickly, who was sitting by the wall with her head in her hands. "L-Leo, I think Donnie is going to have me try and fix you." She took a long, wavering breath. "I d-don't think I can do that..." Her hands were trembling as she lowered them from her face, which was white with anxiety. 

Leo started to sit up, but was once again pushed down. "Don't you even start with me Leonardo. You are staying put right where you are." He shrank back at the severity of her tone and eased back down. Although he hadn't had much experience with women, Leo was learning quickly that it was better to not question them. 

"April, you will do fine. Y-you are perfectly capable , and I really couldn't ask more from you. Besides, D-Donnie will be walking you through it." April shook her hands vigorously, willing the stress to go away, and steeling herself with resolve. "Okay. I will do my best." 

A soft tapping came from the wall, and April crawled back to the opening. A bottle of rubbing alcohol was shoved in her face, and she fell back with a squeak. "Oops, sorry April. I was just going to drop that in." She took the bottle and the towels that followed. 

A corner of a sheet poked in after them, and she struggled to slide the large cloth inside. Once it pulled free, she spread it out on the ground, setting the towels on top of it. "April, this is a regional anesthesia, I already drew out the right dosage, so I'm handing you the syringe." 

April hesitantly reached her hand in, and found that the tip was covered by a cap. She sighed in relief and placed it on the towels. Donnie came back into view, and passed a small gas powered blow torch to her. "What is this for?" April stared worriedly at the tool. She had seen Donatello using it many times in his lab. 

"Well, generally it's seriously unadvisable to remove an impaled object, but I can't really get to you right now. So, in order to keep Leo from bleeding out, you may have to cauterize the wound." April's eyes widened. "But! You probably won't have to. Unless he starts bleeding badly enough, pressure should work just fine." 

He passed an enormous bundle of gauze and cloth through, and a small metal rod. It had a handle on one side, and the tip was rounded. "It wouldn't be the first time that thing's been used. I have had to cauterize a few wounds in the past." 

By the time Donnie was done explaining each of the items passing through the opening, April had an enormous pile of equipment necessary for the procedure stacked on the sheet. 

April helped Leo over to lie on the sheet clumsily, until he was finally resting flat on the hard surface. April went back to the makeshift bed and grabbed a few pillows, pushing them under Leo's head and around his shell. "Ok. Is everything ready April?" 

Swallowing nervously, April nodded, causing the video on the screen to bounce. "Yeah, I'm ready." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo felt a cool, damp towel cleaning an area on his thigh, and a click echoed in the small space as April uncapped the syringe. Donnie's voice floated in the air, directing the operation. 

"Leo, this will essentially shut down your leg. For the most part, it will numb and paralyze the limb. You are going to be conscious...I would put you under if I had the ability, but this is the best we can do." 

Leo shut his eyes, trying to relax his leg in preparation for the injection. "Okay, just do what you guys have to." He flashed a pain filled smile at April, which transmitted onto the laptop as well. "Okay, now carefully put the syringe into the area..." April took a deep breath and slid the needle into the soft skin of Leonardo's thigh. 

"Good, now make sure to inject the anesthesia slowly..." She pressed her thumb on the flat tip of the syringe, and pushed the liquid in. "You doing okay Leo?" He blinked up at her and nodded, feeling a faint numbness spread through his leg. Donnie examined the image on the screen. 

"Give the anesthetic a little while to spread." April nodded and rubbed Leo's thigh comfortingly. After five minutes, Donnie instructed April to test the numbness. She poked various places along Leo's leg, asking Leo if he could feel it. He shook his head drowsily. "I don't really feel much pain, just some pressure..." 

Donnie turned towards the wall a bit more, sitting alongside the hole. "Well, that's about as much as we could ask for. Okay, grab a fresh towel and the alcohol." April did so, her hands starting to tremble slightly. The bottle was larger than what she kept at home. 

"Pour the alcohol directly on the wound, and use the towel to sterilize the area around it." April looked at the angry, swollen flesh and was glad that they had access to an anesthetic, no matter how effective it was. Alcohol hurt like nothing else on mere paper cuts, she didn't want to imagine what it would feel like on a wound like this. 

She carefully poured a little on the wound at a time, and Donatello kept telling her to put more on. Finally, she had sanitized the entrance of the wound and the exit to Donatello's liking. 

Blood still oozed out from around the metal, appearing just as she had wiped it away with a now stained towel. "April, it's going to bleed, we can work on stopping it after we get the debris out, alright?" She swallowed quickly. "Y-yeah, okay. What next?" 

"We need to make sure there isn't anything that could catch on the way out, like barbs. Gently pull on the metal, but be careful of the sharp edges." April wrapped a towel around her hands and grasped the piece firmly. Steadying herself, she pulled, eliciting a shout from Leo. 

April jumped and immediately let go. "Leo, what?" Donnie narrowed his eyes at the screen and hit the ground in frustration. "Leo, the leg isn't all the way numb, is it?" He shook his head weakly. "I-I guess n-not...it f-felt like had stopped h-hurting, but I guess the bone isn't n-numb." 

Donnie muttered a few choice words under his breath. "Well if it isn't numb, I don't think it is going to be. I can't use any stronger dosages without putting you under, and for that I would need to hook you up to monitor your vitals." He sighed heavily, noting that he had been doing that a lot lately, and stood up. 

"Don't do anything, I will be right back." April looked worriedly at Leo. "Does it hurt bad?" He shook his head slightly. "It doesn't hurt as bad as it did before, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling." April fixed him with a stare. 

"What exactly do you mean by before? Before as in when you were moving around like an idiot, or before as in when you were sitting still?" Leo bit his lip nervously. "Uuh, before. As in the first one. Please don't hit me!" She rolled her eyes in exasperation. 

"Maybe we can just leave it in...?" Leo shook his head again. "N-no. If Donnie says it needs t-to come out, it does. He knows the risks, a-and he knows what is b-best. He doesn't think h-he could reach u-us before the wound gets worse. That's why." 

She reached up and placed her hand on his arm. "But Leo, if it hurts...I don't want to hurt you!" This time, Leo fixed her with a stare of his own. "April. I will be fine. Like I said before, just do what needs to be done, okay?"

A telltale thud announced Donatello's return as he dropped to his knees beside the hole. "Here, give this to Leo." April reached her hand inside and pulled out a short, thick wooden stick. It was firm, but covered in little grooves. "These are..." 

Donnie cleared his throat nervously. "Yeah, those are bite marks...but the stick is clean, so it's fine..." April handed the stick to Leo, who clenched it in his fist. Donnie addressed Leo hesitantly. "Leo, can you stay still?" 

Leo nodded determinedly. "I'll try my best." 

April slowly reached back towards the metal, and Leo slipped the wood into his mouth, tensing and willing every muscle in his body to stay still. Shutting her eyes tightly, April gripped the metal and pulled, hard. 

"GAAAAAAHHH" A scream ripped our of Leo's throat and his back arched off the ground. "Sorry! Sorry Leo! Oh my gosh..." The metal had moved up almost two inches, and blood was now gushing out from around it. "April!" Donnie shouted. "Give me the rod and the torch, now!" 

She quickly passed the items back through the hole, and Donatello quickly started heating the metal. "April, go help Leo, I will let you know when this has heated enough." 

April crawled back over to Leo, who had tears streaming down the sides of his cheeks. "Leo, I am so, so sorry. I should have pulled harder, I should have gotten it out!" She pressed a towel around the area, trying to stem the bleeding. Leo's breath passed harshly through his teeth, his chest heaving with each inhale. 

Donnie hissed as he saw the blood soaking through the towel. He held the rod up, double checking its temperature, and yelled to April. "On the count of three, pull the metal all the way out. As soon as it is out, get over here as quickly as you can. I have heated the rod already, so be careful of the metal." 

Donnie flipped the rod around so that the handle was held in his fingertips and the metal was going into the entrance first. Once his hand was completely inside the hole, he shifted the rod so it was pointing up. "Alright, on the count of three." April wrapped her sticky, trembling hands around the metal tightly, not looking at Leonardo's face. 

"One, two, THREE!" The metal pulled free with a sickening noise and clanged on the floor five feet away. Leo screamed and promptly fell silent, drifting into unconsciousness. April barely glanced at the wound, and sprinted as fast as she could to the rod. She grasped the handle tightly and returned to Leo. 

Holding her breath, she plunged the rod into the wound, searing the veins shut. She closed here eyes tightly at the horrible, pain filled whimpers escaping the injured leader and moved the rod to reach other areas of the wound. "Make sure not to leave it in one place for too long..." Donnie cautioned, watching the screen intently. 

"We need to save as much healthy tissue as we can." April continued to move the rod at a steady pace until the bleeding slowed. "Okay, that was good. Take it out and pour more alcohol on the wound." As she poured the liquid on Leo's shin, April became aware of the smell of burnt flesh filling the room. 

Her stomach churned, and she swallowed the bile that rose in the back of her throat. Donnie winced at the smell drifting out from the enclosed area and made a mental note to help air the room out. "Now put the gauze on top, and keep firm pressure on it." 

April slid the small metal rod out of Leo's leg and set it next to the horrible metal on the other side of the room. She picked up a bundle of gauze and pressed it down on Leo's leg. April and Donnie simultaneously sighed in relief when the blood didn't seep through the material immediately. 

Finally, April cleaned and sanitized the wound again before picking up a needle and thread. "Now we just need to close the wound and wrap it..." The screen turned back to Leo, and his heart nearly jumped out of his throat at the incredibly pale and stilled face of his older brother. Quickly, Donnie calmed his fears for the moment, knowing that they were irrational, and focused on the simple task at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was an intense chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it is a slow chapter, but it covers a few points I didn't want to leave hanging. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 11

April pulled the last stitch through the skin and knotted it gently before snipping the ends of the thread. She carefully wiped away the blood covering Leo's leg and wrapped gauze around the stitched area tightly. 

"April, here are some blankets we were able to salvage." Donatello shoved the cloth through the hole. April took them gratefully. "Ooh, fresh blankets! Thanks you guys!" She moved over to the pile of customs and took the bloodied blankets off, replacing them with the clean ones. 

"Uh...here, I don't really want these in here." She passed the ruined pieces of cloth back through the hole before going back to Leo. She heaved him up carefully and staggered over to the pile of cushions before nearly dropping him unceremoniously on the makeshift bed. "Gah! Sorry Leo!" 

Donatello stifled a laugh, covering his mouth quickly. "Hey, April? Let's get all of the things with blood on them out of there, okay?" April nodded in agreement. "Yes please! I have seen enough blood for a while." 

She pushed the sheet through, which was soggy with the red liquid, followed by the now red towels and gauze. She scrubbed at the bloodstains on the floor with the leftover towels until they were dried, and disposed of those as well. April gingerly shoved the awful piece of metal out, and they finally had a somewhat clean area. 

April felt a sharp twinge in her lower abdomen and blushed furiously. Crawling back to the hole, she lowered her voice to a urgent whisper. "Hey...Donnie? I uhm...I have to go." Donnie turned back to April from the pile of soiled cloth and paled. "Oh, r-right..." Of all the things he could have spaced! Well, now he had another reason to find a way to air out the room. 

"O-okay. Just hold on for a minute, I will work something out." His face flushed at the embarrassing nature of the situation as he went to his lab. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Casey and Mikey hovered over Raph's bed, more out of boredom than concern. They both turned eagerly as Donatello walked in, nervous about what news he had for them. His hands were covered in drying blood, and his face was extremely flushed. 

"Well?" Mikey asked worriedly, his hands twitching slightly. "We got the metal out, and Leo should be fine. I would like to set up a blood transfusion though..." He trailed off, his brows creasing in concentration. 

Casey stared down at the purple banded turtles hands and cleared his throat. "Hey, Don. Maybe you should, you know, wash your hands?" His head shot up, jolting out of his thoughts as he stared at his hands. "Yeah, okay." 

He unwrapped the stiff wrappings from his hands, causing flakes of dried blood to crack loose before tossing them in the trash. As he watched the water run over his hands, he tried to think of a solution to their bathroom problem. "Uh, guys?" 

Everyone looked at Donatello expectantly, whose back was facing them. "I realized I overlooked something...um..." He shut his eyes tightly, feeling his face heat up. "Aprilhastogo." He spit out the words quickly and waited for a response. 

"You mean, she has to use the ladies room?" Casey said, his voice unusually calm. Donnie turned to the young man in surprise. "Uh, yeah. That." Casey shrugged. "So...what's the problem?" 

Donnie scrubbed his hands harshly with his nails, muttering. "What's the problem? We need to keep a clean environment in there! I don't know when I will be able to get them out! I can't have illness starting in there, and that kind of contamination would be catastrophic for a puncture wound like Leo's!" 

Casey stepped forward hesitantly. "Well, yeah, but can't we just use bags?" Donnie turned towards him irritably. "What do you mean, bags?" 

"Well, if we get heavy duty trash bags, they should be able to use them, tie it up, and pass it back through the hole." Casey looked down at his feet briefly, his face heating up. "I kinda...swallowed a bunch of stuff when I was little. We had to make sure that it the things I swallowed didn't get stuck in my intestines. You get the picture." 

Donnie fell silent, glancing over his shoulder at Casey. "That...might work. As long as we get a lot of hand sanitizer and toilet paper in there, it should work." He almost laughed at how simple the solution was, there was no plumbing or anything. 

"It will be pretty gross, but it should work." He dried his hands on a towel and headed to the kitchen for the bags. He turned quickly back around when he remembered that the bathroom had been crushed. "Guys! See if the closet next to the bathroom is intact, at least a little bit. Try to get some TP, then meet me back where April and Leo are." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo was vaguely aware of a pain coming from his shin, but the pain in his head nearly distracted him from it. He moved his head to the side uncomfortably and opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a broken rasp. "Ehhrr..." Well, that was an embarrassing sound. 

He tried to clear his throat, causing the muscles to contract painfully. He doubled over as dry coughs pushed up his throat, sucking air in between each convulsion. There was a hand on his shoulder, he realized, and cracked open his eyes. 

"-eo! Leo! Are you alright?" Oh yeah, he thought. April was here too. "Y-yeah, but m-my throat...ugh." April handed him a water bottle and he immediately took it, the lukewarm water soothing his raw throat. 

"How's your leg Leo?" Leo looked down at his leg quickly, remembering the excruciating pain of taking the metal out. His leg was wrapped securely with white gauze with a small stain of red reaching the surface. "G-good job April. I told y-you that you could do it." 

April stared at him incredulously. "You almost bled out because of me you moron!" Leo laughed, causing his head to throb even more painfully. "But...I didn't. Any landing y-you can walk away from, April." She sat down heavily. "Riiight. I bet you say that when you drive too." 

At that moment, Donatello returned. "April?" She scrambled to her feet and answered him. "Donnie! Leo woke up. He's fine for the most part." Donatello peered into the hole. "He's awake? Did he say anything about his leg feeling hot or stinging?" 

April squirmed in discomfort. "No...not yet, but did you figure something out?" Donnie paused. "Yeah, but you're not going to like it." April put her hands on her hips defiantly. "You don't think I understand the situation we are in? I realize that it isn't going to be exactly civilized." 

Leo spoke up in hoarse voice, interrupting the two. "What i-isn't going to b-be civilized?" Donnie answered bluntly. "Like it or not, we have to figure out the bathroom issue. I don't know how long it could take to get you guys out of there. It could be up to five days, maybe even a week until I get this wall stabilized enough to widen the hole." 

April gasped in dismay. "It could be that long?" Donatello nodded grimly. "If I had the kind of recourses that rescue efforts on the surface had, then you guys might be out by tomorrow night. I just don't have that kind of manpower or equipment." 

He noticed that April had started squirming again, so he handed the thick garbage bag to her. Suddenly, a shout came from around the corner. Mikey ran in, holding up a severely battered roll of toilet paper. "I found some Donnie!" 

Mikey handed the toilet paper to April excitedly, who was considerably less thrilled about the situation than the younger turtle. "Well, I guess this will have to do. It will be just like camping. Thanks guys." 

She handed the mounted camera to Leo, who placed his hand over the lense, blocking out the image. April took the bag and TP over to a darkened corner and turned off her flashlight. Everyone fidgeted and turned away quickly. 

After she finished, Donnie took the bag gingerly and ran to put it in the large bin outside the lair. He washed his hands in the lab on the way back and grabbed a small bottle of hand sanitizer, which he gave to April. 

The smell of burnt flesh still seeped out of the room, smothering everything else. "April, if I set up a fan to air out the area you are in, would it make it too cold?" April shook her head vigorously, loose strands of hair fluttering with the movement. "Please. If you can get it smelling better in here, then do it. The smell is really making my stomach sick." 

Donnie clapped his hands on his knees. "Okay. I am going to go check Splinters room. He had a fan in there, it might still work." He pulled out his phone to light the way and stared in shock at the numbers that were displayed on the screen. "What?! Guys, it is four in the morning! HOW did that happen?" He shook his head in disbelief. 

Four pairs of eyes stared blankly back at him, two from the camera which was resting on Leo's plastron. "You know what, never-mind." He ran to Splinters room still shaking his head. Although he was used to staying up all night, the others needed their rest.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, writing this was probably not the best use of my time. No wait, it might have been. I can't decide.
> 
> Anyways, here is a bit of downtime for the turtles. They kinda need it.

Chapter 12

Mikey put his face directly up to the hole and grinned. "Hey Leo!" Leo shifted tiredly, looking at the hole where the light was being blocked by the youngest turtle's head. "Hi Mikey..." The youngest bounced excitedly on his toes from his squatting position. "Leo, I found something. It is foorr yoooouuu!" 

Leo breathed out a laugh as Mikey nearly sang the last part of his announcement. "What is it?" He asked curiously. Mikey's wide smile grew impossibly larger as he brought his hand out from behind his back. He was clenching a deep blue, slightly used candle, which he promptly slid through the opening. "Taaadaaa!!!" 

Leo's eyes widened at the sight of the candle. "That's one of my meditation candles!" April came over and gently took the candle and the small brass bowl that followed, bringing them to Leo. "Mikey, how did these not get broken in the earthquake?" 

Mikey's eyes brightened at the attention as he told how he had found the candle. "Well, I went into your room to look for blankets, and there were rocks on a lot of stuff. Even on your futon! Anyway, it was really weird, the space that you meditate in looked the same as it always did. There weren't any rocks on the mat, and the candle hadn't even fallen over." 

"That is really weird," April laughed. Leo nodded in agreement, then looked back at Mikey. "Thank you Mikey, but now it's time for bed, okay?" Mikey groaned and said, "Fiiiinee, but I am going to sleep out here." He left to find something to sleep on, leaving the two in silence once more. 

Leo turned to April, placing his hand on her arm. "That goes for you too April. Try to get some sleep at least." She nodded tiredly and curled inside a spare blanket, turning off the flashlight beside her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donatello, after getting permission from his father, crept into Splinter's room. He grimaced as he saw various shelves tipped over, shattered glass and porcelain gleaming from underneath the dark wood. He nudged away a particularly large shard of translucent porcelain, realizing with a start that it was one of Master Splinter's figurines from Japan.

Shining the light around, he quickly found what he was looking for. A white plastic fan was tipped over in the corner. The stand was mostly fine, he noted. Lifting the fan to a standing position, Donatello saw that a large chunk of the plastic protective guard was missing. 

"Well, the fan will still work fine," he reasoned, "I will just have to make sure that Mikey doesn't stick his fingers inside." He pulled the cord out from under the rocks and went to get one of his portable generators. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey flopped down on the mattress he had pulled from his room excitedly. The top of his bed frame had been crushed, and apart from a few tears, mattress was in surprisingly well condition. He pulled a blanket up to his chin, and faced the laptop, which he had moved closer to him. 

The screen glowed dimly in the darkness, showing the outlines of Leo and April's tired forms as they settled down for the night. The camera must have been set down on the floor, he thought sleepily. He felt a strong sense of comfort watching the rise and fall of their chests, even if they were underneath piles of blankets.

As he was nearly asleep, Mikey got startled awake by a loud scraping sound. "Ah! Oh, it's just you Donnie..." Donatello set down the generator and steadied the fan before looking skeptically at the glow coming from the laptop. 

"Man, I thought I had turned that off..." As he reached for the laptop to shut it and the camera down for a while, Mikey knocked his hand away gently. "Donnie, please. Just...leave it on, okay?" 

Donnie started to argue pointlessly, "but Mikey, I have a very limited power supply, and I need..." He slowly fell silent under the pleading eyes of his baby brother. 

"Uuggh...fine. I will just leave it on until you fall asleep, okay?" Mikey nodded, snuggling back under the blanket. "Donnie?" 

He had turned back to the fan, adjusting the height so it reached the hole. "Yeah?" He mumbled around the corner of his tongue. 

Mikey's voice was slightly muffled as his beak was resting on the soft fabric. "Remember when we were little, and we would sometimes have sleepovers on the floor when the power went out?" 

"Yep." 

"I miss that..." Listening to the familiar sounds of his older brother at work, Mikey drifted off, his eyes closing heavily. Donnie glanced at him and turned back to the fan, shutting of its turning mechanism. He plugged it in to the generator and the blades hummed to life. 

Breathing out a sigh of satisfaction, Donnie slowly slid it up to the hole at a slight angle. Biting his lip, he slid the laptop out from under Mikey's hand and powered everything down.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! A chapter!

Chapter 13

Leo opened his eyes to darkness, feeling his head pound and spin. He fumbled for the flashlight, careful not to bump April, and flicked it on. Light illuminated the pathway to the opening, and he lowered himself onto the floor gingerly. 

Ignoring the tilting and dizzying pressure in his head, he made his way over to the opening quietly. He carefully pulled himself backwards by his hands and good leg until his shell bumped the wall. A faint breeze was coming in through the hole, and he could hear the faint whirring of fan blades. He cleared his throat and whisper shouted out the hole. "Hey, is anyone awake out there?" His voice traveled through the fan, becoming choppy and distorted. 

Donnie appeared almost immediately, scooting the fan slightly to the side. "Leo, you know you aren't supposed to be moving around." Leo put his hands up defensively. "Yeah, I know, but April needs her rest, and I just needed to go." 

There was a crinkling sound, and a smaller bag was passed through. "Thanks Donnie." After a brief pause, more crinkling was heard. "You know what, just keep a few bags in there, just in case." Leo nodded and set the bags down near the opening. 

Leo finished quickly and gingerly passed the bag back to Donnie. "I am SO sorry Donnie. This is the worst..." He uncapped the hand sanitizer and poured a fair amount in his palm. 

His vision tilted again, and he shut his eyes against the dizziness, leaning back against the wall. Donnie left, telling him to go back to bed, but Leo didn't move, planning on speaking more to his brother when he returned. 

Blood rushed in his ears as Leo thought to himself. This wasn't a migraine...his head just felt more stuffed full of cotton than anything. It didn't hurt so much as it was just making everything spin. 

He tried to focus on a single point, but his vision still wavered. He shut his eyes in frustration, finding that it still felt like he couldn't think straight through the faint pulsing in his head. 

Donnie came back, and saw that the light hadn't moved since he left. "Leo, what are you doing?" He asked tiredly. Leo didn't move from his position on the floor, instead facing the opposite wall while speaking. 

"I just was wondering if the anesthesia you gave me could cause dizziness." Don perked up, his voice coming out sharply. "No. I didn't give you much, and it wouldn't make you dizzy. I know you aren't allergic to it, I have used it on you before. What do you feel like?" 

Leo took a shuddering breath before responding. "Well, everything is spinning...I can't get my eyes to focus on anything, and I can't really seem to think straight." Donnie furrowed his brows in concentration. "Well, I guess that it could be coming from blood loss...I was hoping you would be alright, but I will find a way to get you a small transfusion and something to increase the sugar in your blood." 

Donnie reached his arm through the hole. "Give me your forehead Leo." Leo bent down, touching his head gently to his younger brother's palm. "Well, you don't have a fever. Do me a favor and go lie down, okay Leo?" 

Leo shifted back into a sitting position and turned around, preparing to make his way back to the bed. "Donnie, you wanted to put a transfusion in after the operation, but you couldn't. Your equipment got damaged, didn't it?" 

He nodded hesitantly, not wanting Leo to object to what he was planning to do. "If you are going to the surface, please at least take Mikey with you. Don't go alone." Breathing out a sigh of relief, Donatello agreed and watched Leo until he made it back to his bed. 

Donnie moved to kneel beside his snoring brother, placing his hands on a sleep warmed shoulder. "Mikey. Mikey, wake up." The younger turtle turned his face into the pillow and muttered sleepily before his eyes popped open and he shot up as he remembered where he was. 

"What? What happened?" Donnie stumbled back, landing on his rear in surprise. "Woah, Mikey, calm down. I just need to go to the surface. Will you come with me?" Mikey blinked at the purple banded turtle in confusion. "What do you need to do up there? Is Leo okay?" 

Donnie hurriedly began explaining the situation to Mikey. "Leo is just a little dizzy. He lost a lot of blood, so I need to give him a transfusion. I just don't have the equipment for that. It was broken in the earthquake." 

Mikey clambered out of bed, picking up his nunchucks from the floor and sliding them into his belt. "Okay, let's go. I know a stable way out."


	14. 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One would think that a long weekend would be the perfect time to write. One would think...

Chapter 14

Splinter stood up, placing his sons hand on top of his plastron before moving away from the bed. Donatello had finished treating Leonardo, and he desperately wanted to check on his son. 

He picked up the electric lantern from the counter, causing the shadows on the walls to move and wobble. Splinter put a blanket over Casey, who had curled up on a chair, his concern for the hotheaded turtle drawing him to the lab. 

He gave a last glance at the two sleeping bodies before he disappeared down the hallway. He entered the kitchen and saw a small opening in the rocks. Equipment was strewn around the hole, and he knew that Leo and April were inside. 

He knelt down beside the wall, careful of the fan that was nearby, and held his lantern up. He quickly realized that the lantern did not offer enough focused light and reached for an abandoned flashlight. 

As he bent down, his attention was drawn to a small piece of paper on the nearby mattress. He picked up studying the messy scrawl that was most definitely Michelangelo's. It simply read "Sorry we left without much notice. We went to the surface to get medical supplies for Leo. Be back soon. Donatello and Michelangelo." 

He set it down with a sigh and flicked the flashlight on, and shone the beam of light into the hole. His shoulders relaxed from a tension he hadn't been fully aware of as he saw two pairs of blue eyes squinting at him sleepily. April sat up and rubbed her eyes, turning on her own flashlight. 

"Please, get that light out of our eyes." She snapped irritably, only to find that the one she had lost her temper with was Master Splinter. She gasped in dismay as his light clicked off and she realized who was on the other side. 

"Sorry Splinter! You just woke me up, and the light was hurting my eyes." Splinter chuckled lightly, too relieved that the young woman he thought of as a daughter was unharmed to be angry with her. 

"I am glad to see that you are both alright." His eyes drifted down to his eldest's leg, which was wrapped up tightly. "How are you feeling Leonardo?" Leo sat up halfway as well, propping himself up on his elbows. 

"I'm alright Sensei. Donnie said that my leg will get better eventually, as long as I stay off of it until then." He groaned inwardly at the thought of being so inactive. "But, with the situation we are in now, not doing anything for a while will be easy enough." 

Splinter nodded, satisfied with the answer and looked around. "No one is here with you..." He noted mildly. "Well, yeah." Leo said flatly. "Donnie took Mikey to the surface so they could get-" he cut himself off, snapping his mouth shut in an attempt to hide the reason. 

April looked fiercely at Leo, who cringed. "So they could get what exactly Leonardo?" His eyes flicked between the determined woman beside him, and his concerned father, causing his head to spin even more than it had been a moment before. 

He brought a hand up to rub at his eyes and he laid back down. "Donnie just said that I need a blood transfusion, but that his equipment was destroyed. I made him take Mikey with him to get what he needed. 

"Are you okay though Leo? You did lose a lot of blood..." Leo nodded, his hand still over his face. "Yeah, I'm just a little dizzy." He shifted his weight on the bed in an attempt to get more comfortable and bit his lip harshly as his leg moved. 

Leo peeked through his fingers at splinter, his eyes lighting up. "Splinter, is there any way you could get us a watch or a clock? It's hard to know what time it is in here." April agreed, pulling out her phone, which had a large crack running through the center. 

"I found this after things had calmed down. Even if it wasn't broken, I don't think it would have had any connection. It won't even turn on now, let alone show the time." 

Splinter placed a rock on top of the note. "I will see what I can find. Please, go back to sleep." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie growled in frustration as they approached yet another clinic. He had expected there to be a lot of injured humans, but not this many. He slowed to a stop, and carefully scaled a fire escape on an intact building. 

Many of the apartments that these people lived in were old, he reasoned, and only the newer buildings survived the quake. Mikey pulled to a stop behind Donatello, breathing deeply through his nose. 

"Donnie, what should we do? There are a bunch of people here too..." He watched his brother's eyes darting around to the crowd below them anxiously. After a minute of silence, Mikey turned and leapt down the ladder wordlessly. 

Donnie whirled around in alarm and jumped into the alley, chasing after his brother. "Mikey, get back here NOW!" He hissed after the younger turtle, who was, as he predicted, nowhere to be seen. 

Donatello muttered under his breath before vaulting up to the top of the building again. "If he gets caught..." He scanned the area surrounding the clinic carefully before spotting a green hand attempting to open the back of an ambulance. "Oh, shell." 

Donnie winced as the doors popped open, and his brother disappeared inside, closing the doors behind him. He quickly leapt over to the roof of the overrun clinic positioning himself so he had a good view of the vehicle. 

He glanced at the paramedics rushing around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were staying away, and promptly turned to glare daggers into the ambulance where his brother was hiding. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey pushed around some equipment in the small space, his shell pressed up against a stretcher. He bent down and opened up a cupboard, finding only more of the same stuff. 

He pressed his palm to his forehead in an attempt to remember what Donnie used for a blood transfusion when he felt the back of his neck start to heat up and prickle. He tentatively peeked through the small window in the door and panicked internally. 

Donatello was perched on the roof, his mouth set in a firm, angry line. He also had his second lid over his eyes, leaving them blank, and making the glare even more terrifying. 

Mikey gave his brother a nervous wave, biting his lip as Donatello continued to stare him down, only shaking his head slightly. "Oh man, I didn't want to make him angry..." He tensed, moved away from the window, and continued searching, trying to ignore the flames coming from his brother. Being on the receiving end of Donnie's nerd rage was never good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie blew a puff of air from between his lips as Mikey disappeared from view again. He probably didn't even know what he was looking for. He tried not to panic as he made his way down the building, trying to find a way to the vehicle. 

He peeked from around the corner of the clinic and gasped in dismay when a brown haired nurse began heading for the vehicle. He coiled his muscles, prepared to prevent the nurse from discovering his younger brother when a cheerful voice came from behind him. 

"Is this what Leo needs Donnie?" Donnie turned in surprise to see Mikey grinning brightly behind him, holding up a small white machine. In one hand, he held about a dozen empty blood donation bags, which were pressed between his fingers and the machine. "Donnie gently took the items from Mikey, grinning faintly. "Yeah...this is right! Good job Mikey!" 

Mikey raised his hand excitedly in the air. "Yeah! Go B team!" Donnie clapped his palm against Mikey's and rubbed his head affectionately, before shoving him gently to the side. "Don't call us that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have all of my midterms this week, and I won't be able to update as frequently. Sorry guys! Oh, and thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of needles in the beginning of the chapter, for anyone who hates them...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaaayyyy!!!!!!!!

Chapter 15

Leo powered on the phone Splinter had found for what felt the hundredth time. The screen cast a blue glow on his face, displaying the time. He sighed heavily as he saw that only three minutes had passed since he last checked. 

It was 11:36, and Donnie and Mikey had left nearly three and a half hours earlier. "April, I'm starting to worry." She shifted under the blankets and turned to look at Leo. "They will be back soon Leo." She mumbled sleepily. "Don't worry about them, they can take care of themselves, remember?" 

He nodded and shut the phone off again, staring anxiously at the opening. He reached for the water bottle and uncapped it, downing the few swallows that were left. Crackles filled the air as he absentmindedly pressed his fingertips against the thin plastic repeatedly. 

April nearly opened her mouth to tell Leo to stop when Mikey abruptly came to the hole. "Leo, we're back." He said breathlessly. "Donnie is getting everything ready, so could you try to get over here?" Leo slid off the bed. "Yeah. Hey April, is there any way we could move the bed closer to the wall?" 

"Yeah," she said sitting up. "I just need to move the cushions." She stood up, running her fingers through her knotted hair again before lifting the blanket off of the cushions. She tossed them over to the wall carefully, making sure not to hit the rocks directly. 

Leo scooted over to the pillows, rearranging them and smoothing the blanket back out. "Thanks April." He lifted himself back onto the bed and sat upright, waiting for Donatello to return. He shivered as the fan blew frigid air across his skin. 

April picked up the blanket he had been using from the floor and handed it to him before curling up at the end of his bed, her head near Leo's thigh. "Being in here is so boring..." She groaned. "It just makes me feel sleepy all the time." 

Leo chuckled and ran his hand over her head, threading his large fingers through her tangled hair. "I know just what you mean, little sister." April closed her eyes, enjoying the calming feeling of Leo playing with her hair, and grinned at the term. "Thanks, big brother." 

Mikey thought as he waited for Donnie to come back, a fantastic idea forming in his head. As soon as Donnie came and fixed up Leo, maybe he would help. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donatello watched carefully as the clear bag expanded, red liquid draining down the tube connected to his arm. He set the bag on the scale, ready to disconnect the tube once he had collected enough blood. 

The needle in the crook of his arm stung sharply as he reached for an IV pole, protesting the movement. He ignored the discomfort, setting up everything he was going to need. Soon, tubes were neatly hung on the pole, ready for use. 

The machine let off a soft beep, and Donatello powered it off before sliding the thin metal needle from his vein. He closed off the tubing and wrapped his arm tightly before hanging the bag up. 

As he stood up, white spots danced across his vision. "Oh, right. I need some sugar..." He mumbled to himself, sifting through a cabinet and pulled out a small jar of dumdums. 

He unwrapped one quickly, sticking it in his mouth before connecting the tubing to the transfusion. He pinned the jar under his arm and carefully wheeled the IV pole out of the room, holding the tubing in place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo reached his arm through the hole, keeping possible instabilities in mind as he pressed his body as far up against the stone as he could. Once his shoulder met firmly against the opening, Donnie reported that he could reach the correct vein. 

"I'm just going to clean your arm and insert the IV tube, alright?" Leo twisted his arm awkwardly and flashed a thumbs up to his brother before relaxing the limb again. 

He closed his eyes when he felt Donatello wipe an area clean on the underside of his arm, near the elbow. A sharp sting sent a shock up his arm, and Leo bit his lip a little as the tubing slid into place under his skin. 

A familiar feeling trickled into his arm as his brother's blood entered his own bloodstream. "Alright, I'm finished." Donnie's hand gripped his older brother's tightly before reluctantly nudging it back inside the hole. Before his he could pull his hand all the way through, he felt something thin being pressed into his hand. 

"Oh, I almost forgot. Eat this, okay? It will help replenish your energy." Leo pulled the object through and raised it near his face to get a better look at it. "Okay, thanks Donnie." 

He unwrapped the crinkled paper from the candy and popped it into his mouth, rolling it between his teeth absentmindedly. "Donnie, could you maybe get us some toothbrushes?" He asked as the urge to bite the lemon flavored sucker won him over. He crunched the dum dum into smaller chunks, feeling the pieces lodge themselves between his teeth. 

Ignoring the urgent pokes to his back from his younger brother, Donnie agreed, adding the task to his ever expanding mental checklist. After pushing Mikey's hand away for the fifth time, Donnie turned his annoyed gaze to meet the eager blue eyes. "What is it Mikey?" He sighed, exasperated. 

Mikey flicked his eyes purposefully to the hallway, motioning for Donnie to follow him with his chin. Donnie groaned and stood up. "I'll be right back guys." Mikey left the room, nearly skipping as Donatello followed him tiredly. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, Mikey spun around, a huge grin on his face. Donnie raised his eye ridges skeptically as Mikey started to speak. 

"So I was thinking, April must be getting pretty uncomfortable in there, right?" He nodded carefully in response, wondering where this was going. "Weeelll...I noticed that she was messing with her hair a lot, and it looked like it was annoying her." He bounced on his toes excitedly. "Could we get her a hairbrush and some other things, like elastics? I think it would make her feel better. I know that I would want to feel decent at least." He finished hurriedly. Donnie thought it over, and realized that it would be pretty uncomfortable to be in her position. 

"Okay Mikey. When Casey wakes up, you can take him to the surface and see what you can find. Oh, while you are up there, find some toothbrushes and extra toothpaste, okay?" Mikey nodded, thinking of the advantages of being able to send Casey to find supplies. 

"You know what, I will just make you a shopping list." He took Mikey's hand and pulled him back to the kitchen, grabbing a pencil and a scrap of paper before sitting them both down near the hole. "April?" 

Her eyes moved into view as she sat up. "What is it?" Donnie cleared his throat nervously. "I-I was just wondering if there was anything you wanted, anything at all. Until I can get this mess stabilized, there is no telling how long you will be in there. Mikey and Casey are going to go up to the surface to collect supplies." She nodded in understanding, and began brainstorming. 

Leo listened to the quiet murmuring of their voices half consciously as he waited in vain for the dizzying pressure in his skull to subside.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this chapter was inspired by Remnant by LadyoftheShield. Go read it! It made me cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it is a really short chapter. But, hey, another part of the story!

Chapter 16

Thick dust made the air nearly opaque. Casey choked on the gritty substance, and drew his shirt up over his nose and mouth. He blinked away the dirt on his lashes fiercely, stumbling frantically ahead towards the bone chilling screams. 

A shadow loomed over him suddenly as the ground beneath him trembled threateningly. "No.." He breathed, breaking out into a full sprint towards the crumbling apartment building. "NO!" He kicked open the creaking door, and ran up the stairs three at a time. 

"Please...please be okay!" He reached the third floor and rolled into the hall, barely avoiding a chunk of plaster and wood plummeting from the celling. He rounded the corner, breathing heavily as he retraced the path so familiar to him until he reached the door. 

As the screaming fell silent, he kicked open the wood panels, dented from years of drunken, rage fueled entries. Casey ran towards the room, screaming her name into the terrible silence. The words fell from his lips as he entered the pale purple room, seeing his sister lying under a thick wooden beam. 

A large gash was bleeding sluggishly from her hairline, wetting her dark curls. He knelt down over her, shielding her cooling form from further damage. "Casey..." Casey pressed closer, ignoring the truth that was screaming out in his insistent mind. "Casey!" 

He bolted upright in the chair, sweat causing his clothing to cling to his shuddering chest. "Wh-what? What h-happened?" He felt a chill sweep across his face and he reached a shaking hand up to his cheeks, finding them drenched with tears. He scanned the room to see who woke him, his eyes landing on a pair of green ones staring fearfully at him through the dim lighting. 

He scrubbed at his face, his lip quivering at the memory of the dream. "R-Raph! You're u-up..." Raph tilted his head towards his friend, who was hurriedly trying to compose himself. "You okay Jones?" He frowned as the young man leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and nodded his head. 

Raph bit his lip in indecision, debating whether to chase the subject further when Casey spoke up. "H-how's your leg?" Raph shifted it, figuring out how to answer. He gasped loudly and sat up, his hands hovering above the cast. "J-just peachy, as long as I d-don't move it..." Casey let out a watery chuckle. 

"Hey, Casey. You know I'm here if you ever need to just talk about stuff, right?" Casey stood up, stretching his hands above his head. "Yeah. Thanks, Raph." A gentle knock sounded from the doorframe and Mikey peeked in. 

"Oh! Raph's awake!" He called over his shoulder to the rest of the lair. Donatello and Splinter appeared in the doorway, and suddenly Raph was barraged by questions flying rapidly out of the purple banded turtle. 

"How are you feeling? Any pain? Dizziness? Nausea? What about itching? Does your throat itch? I know you aren't allergic to the painkillers I gave you, but something could have changed...do you have hives anywhere on your body?" Raph blinked dully at his brother, not even attempting to answer any of the questions as his brother ran his fingers over his arms, looking for hives. 

"Donnie, I'm fine. My leg hurts when I move it, but seriously, it's just a broken bone!" Donnie stared at his older brother blankly. "Your bone wasn't just broken, Raph." He said somewhat sarcastically. "It was shattered into over fifteen pieces! Do you know how stressful that was?!"

Raph looked back at the cast in shock. "Uh, thanks? I won't do it again?" Donatello shook his head. "You say that, but what will it be next time, huh? A concussion, or maybe a bullet wound?" Raph settled back down on the bed, narrowing his eyes at his brother. "Why am I getting this lecture again? It wasn't even my fault this time! It isn't like I was looking for trouble!" 

"You're right Raph, but most likely the next time you end up on this bed it will be because of you, as you so eloquently put it, messing around." Raph shook his head with a sigh. "How're Leo and April?" 

Mikey answered him when no one else spoke up. "They are fine. Donnie drilled a hole right through the wall so we can see them and talk to them. It will be a while before it will be safe enough to get them out." Raph nodded. "How long? Were they alright?" 

Donnie ran his hands over the cast as he explained. "I should be able to gather enough equipment and stabilize the rocks in about three more days. They have been in there for almost two as it is, and I want to get a look at Leo's leg as soon as possible." 

Suddenly very alert, Raph raised his voice, which was filled with worry. "What? What happened to Leo's leg?" 

"It was impaled by a broken piece of steel," Donatello said flatly. "April was able to get it out and stop the bleeding. She stitched it up and cleaned it very well, but there is still a risk for infection." He stared at his bare hands, which were stained with ink, and dried blood stuck under his nails. 

"I have been mapping out the weaknesses in the rock, and where it needs to be stabilized. I think I have it figured out, all I need to do is actually weld the supports into place. Well, that and make a lot of supply runs..." 

Mikey's face brightened as he pulled a folded sheet of paper from his belt. "Speaking of, would you go on one with me right now Casey?" He looked around the room as if he had just woken up, startled at being addressed directly. 

"Huh?" He blinked away the images filling his head and turned his confused gaze to Mikey. "I said, could you go to the surface with me to get supplies? Are you alright a. You were really spaced out..." Casey reached down for his golf bag and slid his mask into place. "No, I'm fine. Let's go."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Donatello detached the dented panel from the crumbled wall in his lab, tossing the useless metal to the side. He groaned in dismay as he lowered the upper half of his body into the mess of torn wires and sparking remnants of a large generator. It was meant to connect the lair to the electricity. 

"Whyyy..." He moaned as he picked through his intricate setup. An open wire nearly bumped his arm, and he jumped back quickly. "Okay, I can't get too confident." Donnie manually shut off the power spurting through the wires and began pulling chunks of cement out from the space. 

"I guess I just need to reinforce it more...I mean, the area was completely waterproof from all the flooding, but that didn't help in this case..." A chuckle came across the lab, and Donnie turned his head towards the sound, narrowing his eyes. 

The light from the headlamp currently strapped on his head hit Raph square in the face and he held his hand up, teeth flashing as he laughed. "Do you always talk to yourself this much?" He asked between snickers. Donnie rolled his eyes and grinned back at the injured turtle. "I don't know Raph, do you always get hurt and take up space in my lab?" 

Raph became quiet for a moment, considering the statement. "Yeah. That sounds about right." His face became thoughtful as Donnie went back to repairing the power system. "Don?" 

"Yeah? What is it?" His voice was muffled, echoing out from the space his upper half was currently swallowed by. 

"It's Casey. We were so concerned about ourselves that we ignored his worries, and April's too, most likely." He picked at the cast on his leg absentmindedly, and Donnie was at his side instantly, slapping his bored hand away. 

"Don't mess with that!" He snapped. "And what do you mean?" 

Raph sighed guiltily. "I woke up, and Casey was sitting in that chair over there. He was sleeping, but he was crying a lot, and shouting. He sounded really panicked." 

Donnie sighed, slumping in the chair and peeling the goggles away from his forehead. He rubbed the impressions away as he thought. "His family..." He muttered. "We didn't even think to check." 

Raph nodded sharply. "That is probably the reason Casey went up with Mikey. He wanted to check, but was worried about us too." 

Donnie pulled out a two way radio, identical to the one he had forced Mikey to bring along, and spoke softly into it. "Mikey?" 

Heavy breathing came through the other end. "What's up?" 

Donnie cleared his throat, speaking a little louder. "Hey, uh...after you guys check on Casey's family, run by to check April's too, alright?" The radio beeped through the static, and Mikey's voice came through the speaker again.

"Will do. We are on our way to Casey's right now." Raph grabbed the radio from Donatello, speaking into it harshly. "Listen up goofball." He paused, and his voice softened. "Just. Just let us know, alright?" 

"Yeah, okay Raph. We will call back as soon as we know." The radio silenced, and Donnie scoffed. "It is a radio, he would page us, not call..." He stopped talking at the look Raph was giving him. "Never mind." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey looked at the list as he ran next to Casey. "Let's see...we need toothbrushes, toothpaste, more TP, deodorant, hair ties and a brush, some razors, aaand the rest is from Donnie." 

Casey stopped suddenly, pulled his mask up, and looked at Mikey with pleading eyes. "Mikey, could we swing by my place?" His voice was wavering, and Mikey stared, startled at the haunted expression currently displayed on his friend's face. 

Thoughts ran through his head as he replayed the earlier scene from Donnie's lab. Casey had been shivering and touching his face a lot. "Yeah, no problem Casey. Are you alright?" 

Casey nodded hurriedly, explaining a little. "I j-just want to check on my s-sister..." Understanding bloomed at the distress in the human's voice. Mikey nodded again, cutting off any further explanation. "You are worried about her. I get it. We were selfish before, we didn't even realize...let's go."

Casey led the way, slipping his mask back over his face to hide his emotions, and sprinted in the direction of his neighborhood. Mikey ran to catch up, and a beep coming from his belt nearly caused him to trip. 

Slowing down a little, he answered the radio, making sure to keep Casey in his sights. "What's up?" He asked between gasping breaths. He listened to the request, realizing that his brothers had reached the same conclusion as him, and rushed to reassure them. 

"Will do. We are on our way to Casey's right now." Raph's loud voice blasted through the speaker, which was still near Mikey's face. He winced and held the device away at arms length, until Raph quieted down. "Just. Just let us know, alright?" 

Mikey sighed. "Yeah, okay Raph. We will call back as soon as we know." He tucked the radio away and glanced ahead at Casey, who had stopped. Mikey caught up to him, his concern growing at the way Casey was perched on the ledge of a building. 

He was staring ahead, not moving, and so...so still, his arms limp at his sides. Mikey slowed to a walk, approaching the silent vigilante cautiously. As he neared, he could see tears slipping down the sides of his face from behind the mask. "C-Casey?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, soo sorry! I HATE cliffhangers with a passion, but I really couldn't stop myself.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

He stared numbly at the apartment building. The left side had crumbled, exposing the rooms and hallways that were now interrupted by sudden spaces where they used to be whole. He felt tears crawling down his cheeks as he mapped out the building in his mind, singling out their room. 

He distantly heard Mikey's concerned voice as his adrenaline came crashing down, accompanied by an intense feeling of relief. He started to tremble, shuddering from the choked, relieved sobs working their way up his throat. 

Hands were on his shoulders now, shaking and unsure, bringing him away from the edge and pulling him to the ground. The burning anxiety and tension fell from his body as Casey allowed himself to be maneuvered. 

He snapped out of his shocked state, muttering. "I-I need to find m-my sister." Mikey shook his head firmly, tears filling his eyes. 

"Casey. I-I saw the building. If s-she was in there, she...there i-is no way s-she made it..." Casey stood and pushed him off harshly. 

"No, Mikey! You don't understand. S-she should be fine. Our home was on the right side, just barely. She should be alive." At that, Casey ran back to the ledge, scanning the mess of paramedics, bystanders, and flashing lights. 

Mikey came up from behind him. "What does she look like, Casey?" 

Eyes still fixed on the crowd below, Casey chewed his lip thoughtfully. "She has black, curly hair and blue eyes..." He laughed suddenly. 

"She has really cute freckles, she hates them, but it's not like you could see them from up here. Uh...she's pretty skinny, but really short." 

Mikey prodded his shoulder gently. "I will keep looking from up here. Go find her." Without a word, Casey ran down the building and into the crowd. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo nibbled at the crust of what used to be his dinner. He had eaten just under half of the sandwich, but after six whole meals of the same thing, it was getting extremely less appealing. "I don't know about you April, but I will never want to eat peanut butter. Ever again." April nodded from her position at the end of the bed. 

Time had become completely meaningless for them. When they were tired, they slept. When they were hungry, they ate. The only reason they really had for keeping track of time was to count how long they had been trapped for. From what Donnie had told them, the count was up to two and a half days. 

April ran her tongue over her teeth, eager to put a toothbrush to good use. She looked over to the tube running in through the opening, the end connected to Leo's arm. She glanced at Leo's face. It seemed a lot less pale, but he still had a constant squint around his eyes. "How are you feeling Leo?" 

"I'm okay." He said quietly. She scooted over to the hole and peeked out, seeing that the bag was pretty much empty. "The bag is mostly empty. Should we take the IV out?" Leo moved to look out the hole, regretting the action as his head spun and his vision clouded with colorful spots. 

He focused on stilling his vision and looked at the bag. "No, it still has a little left. Donnie will take it out when he's ready." 

As he laid back down, a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he should tell someone that the dizziness had not gone away. He pushed the idea back down, despite the fact that the tilting of the room had gotten worse. 

He picked up the leftover sandwich, fighting against the queasiness in his stomach, only for his fingers to fumble and let the crust slip from his grasp. Leo's eyes widened as he stared at his hand. He slowly clenched his hand into a fist and felt a thrill of alarm as the digits trembled, responding sluggishly to the orders he was sending them. 

"April. M-my hands..." He fought down the quiver in his voice as April sat up, a confused look on her face. "Uhg, I can't move my fingers right..." He was staring hard at his hand, opening and closing it with a distressed frown. 

April scooted closer, grabbing his large hands near his wrists. They were shaking, she noted. She looked up at Leo, immediately revising her thought. "Leo, you are shaking all over!" 

"W-what?" He looked at his arms and legs, which were trembling as well. He clenched his jaw as his teeth started to chatter. "Leo, are you cold?" He shook his head. "N-no, I'm fine!" April looked at him closely, placing her hand on his forehead. 

"You don't have a fever, so it isn't infection..." She frowned and announced, "I am going to call for Donnie." Leo started, prepared to object. It was a reflex really, but he hurriedly reconsidered his condition. With a sigh, he relented. "Okay, fine. There probably is n-nothing wrong though." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Casey pushed his way through the mess of panicked people. Through the noise and chaos around him, he only had one thought running through his mind. He yelled her name frantically, searching the faces of everyone he saw for any kind of recognition. After making his way through the crowd a second time, he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

Casey spun around, eyes wide, hope flaring in his chest. Instead of his sister, a tall paramedic stood behind him. She had thick, brown hair framing her cinnamon toned skin. She looked Polynesian, he thought absently. 

"H-have you seen my little sister?" He asked loudly over the sirens and chatter. 

"I don't know if she was your sister," she yelled back, "but we did pull a young girl out of an apartment room. The stairs had collapsed a little, so a few of our people went in." 

"What did she look like? How old do you think she was?" The paramedic crinkled her nose. "She looked like she could be around ten, and she had black hair." Casey grabbed her arm, a wide smile splitting his face. 

"Where is she? Can you take me to her?" The woman smiled, nodding. We have her at one of our ambulances. She sustained a bit of head trauma, nothing serious though. We really were only keeping her there until we could find one of her guardians." 

So they hadn't found Dad, Casey thought bitterly. He probably wasn't even at home anyways. He rarely was.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Donnie!" April's voice exploded through the lair. "I think that was a bit too loud, April..." Leo sighed. "Everyone is going to think someone died." 

In the lab, Donnie heard the scream and jolted, whacking his head on the frame in his hurried attempt to get out of the small space housing the generator. He yelped, lowered his head and backed out the rest of the way. 

Raph looked over at his brother, who was now standing up, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "Was...was that April?" He sputtered. Nodding in response, Donatello jogged out of the room. "Stay there," he called to Raph. "I mean it."

Raph stared at the empty room, looking lost before spotting his younger brother's bo staff leaning up against the wall. 

"You think I'm just going to stay here, huh Donnie? You're supposed to be a lot smarter than that." He turned, planted his good foot on the ground and lifted himself up. Placing a hand against the wall, he defiantly hopped over to his new crutch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie skidded around the corner, the light from his headlamp bouncing with each step. He turned quickly into the kitchen, practically falling next to the hole. "What's wrong?" He asked urgently, the worry clearly etched on his face. 

April opened her mouth to answer when Leo jabbed her in the shoulder. With a sassy grin on his face, he laughed. "I told you April." April put on a disapproving frown, which was slowly becoming wobbly as the urge to smile intensified. 

"He doesn't think it is serious, but he told me he can't move his fingers right." Leo gently pushed April aside. "Thanks April, but I can t-talk for myself." April snapped her mouth shut, a slightly hurt look on her face. Well actually, now it looked more annoyed than anything. 

When he saw that no one was in life threatening danger at the moment, Donnie allowed himself to relax somewhat. "Okay Leo, since you are so clearly capable of telling me what is wrong, please continue." He looked at Leo carefully through the hole, noticing a slight trembling in his jaw. 

"Well, I know I said I was feeling alright..." He started. Donnie glared at him suspiciously. "But, my dizziness hasn't gone away. It actually got worse." He held his hands up, warding off the harsh lectures on both April and Donnie's tongues. 

"I don't know if it is just my imagination, but it seems like I can't control my limbs as well as I normally can. Everything feels like it is...messed up...my body feels kind of fuzzy, like TV static." 

Donatello bit his lip, memorizing the symptoms his brother was describing. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me?" He asked dangerously. 

"I'm shaking pretty badly. I didn't notice until April pointed it out to me either." He pinched the area between his eyes as he thought of anything else he could say. "Oh, I did figure out a good way to describe the pressure in my head." 

April lifted an eyebrow. "We're listening." Leo moved his hand up to the side of his head, pantomiming a string coming from it. "It feels like there are a lot of little fish hooks on the inside of my skull, and they are all being pulled outwards. It doesn't hurt so much as it is just making me really dizzy and nauseous." 

Donnie blew out a breath. "Well, until I figure out what's up, just take it easy. Does closing your eyes help at all with the dizziness?" Leo shook his head in frustration. "No, I've already tried that. Nothing helps. My head is still spinning even when there is nothing to see." 

Donnie looked up at the empty IV bag, and gestured for Leo's arm. "I'm going to take the IV out. I thought the blood would help, I mean it definitely did help your overall condition, just not with the dizziness and whatever else is going on." 

Leo pushed his arm through the hole until Donnie was able to reach the tube. Leo felt a bit of tugging, and then a bandage was wrapped around the area. When he pulled his arm back through, he felt at the wrapped area carefully. There was a small, hard lump in the center of his arm. "Don, what...what's in my arm?" 

"Oh, I just fixed a direct port to your vein so we wouldn't have to reinsert IV needles if you need any mild painkillers or antibiotics later." Leo let his arm fall to his side. "Oh, that makes sense." 

"Do you have any ideas about why Leo is feeling weird?" April piped up from the side. 

He spoke as he cleaned up the cluttered area by the hole. "Well, I have a few theories, but I'm going to need to do some research." He glanced back into the hole, "but don't worry. Leo's right, it's probably nothing. And if it is something, I will be able to treat whatever it is properly when I get you guys out." 

With that, he stood and began walking out of the room. "April, just make sure Leo takes it easy for me, okay?" He paused by the doorway, looking back. "Actually, I'm going to come back in a few minutes to turn the camera back on. Would you help me give Leo a quick examination, April?" 

"Of course I will. I was able to handle an operation, so an examination will be no problem." She thumped her chest proudly, remembering too late that Donnie couldn't actually see her. 

Donnie smiled back at the hole, bending down so she could see his face. "Thanks April."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raph frantically backed away from the doorway, leaning heavily on Donnie's bo staff. He mentally cursed his injury as he was unable to escape from view as his brother rounded the corner. 

Their eyes met, and Donatello's expression rapidly from confusion, to fear, and finally settled on one of anger. "Raphael." He flinched back at the use of his full name, leaning against the wall as he wobbled. 

"I believe," he hissed through gritted teeth. "That I told you to STAY WHERE YOU WERE!!!" Donnie rubbed his thumbs into his eyes, taking a few calming breaths. 

Raph fought down a growl, hating the way Donnie was raising his voice. "Well, maybe I didn't WANT to sit around, doing nothing! I was worried Donnie! Just like you." 

For a few seconds, it was silent as Donnie pursed his lips, considering the hot tempered turtle. "Okay, fine Raph. Lean on me, I will take you to see them." 

Fighting the urge to jump at his success, which would have been a really bad idea he decided, he draped his arm over his younger brothers shoulder. 

They hobbled awkwardly over to the opening, where Donnie kicked Mikey's mattress closer before setting Raph down heavily. "You have ten minutes" he whispered to Raph before turning to the hole. 

"Leo, April. Raph is here to check on you."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"She should be right over there." The nurse pointed, singling out one of the ambulances. With that knowledge, Casey broke into a run, pushing people aside roughly in his haste. Annoyed shouts followed him, leaving a trail of irritated people as he ran wordlessly by. He reached the vehicle and swung around into the open back. 

A small form was sitting near the doors, a thick grey blanket draped across her shoulders. Her skinny legs were swinging nervously against the chrome bumper as she stared at her shoes. She looked up, her hair falling away from her eyes, and relief was clearly written on her face. "Casey!" 

He crashed into her, burying his hands in her hair and pressing her head to his shoulder. "I'm so glad you're alright." He felt her small hands wrap around his middle, returning the fierce embrace tightly. "Me too." She sniffled. "I didn't know where you were, and no one was home either." 

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Were you hurt badly?" He tilted her chin up, brushing her hair away from her forehead as he examined the large purple knot just below her hairline. "I just got hit on the head. Something fell from the ceiling, and there was a really loud sound from the building falling." 

He nodded as he thought. He needed to get her somewhere safe. Other times, he would have left her with Dad, as much as he disliked the idea. But, with that option not possible at the moment, he had a problem. 

He climbed up into the vehicle, sitting down next to his sister. He took her hand into his and traced the lines on her palm. He couldn't take her to the lair. The guys wouldn't appreciate that. He couldn't leave her on her own either. A deep frown creased his face. Maybe the guys would have some ideas. 

"Alright." He said aloud. He helped his sister to the ground. "Let's get you somewhere safe, okay?" She nodded and pulled the blanket off, setting it down on the floor of the vehicle. At that moment, the paramedic caught up. "Oh, I'm glad you found her!" 

She paused, looking the pair down. "Were you planning to leave? Do you guys even have anywhere to go?" Casey spoke quickly. "I was planning on going to a family friend's place." He lied. "Plus, it isn't like I'm a kid or anything. I'm eighteen." 

Surprise flitted across the woman's face. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were younger. Good luck." She walked quickly away, looking very flustered. "Thanks," he called after her. She didn't look like she had heard. He took his sister's small hand in his and pulled her through the crowd. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey watched from the roof as Casey moved through the crowd. It wasn't hard to spot him, he just followed the trail of stumbling people lift in his wake. After a while, he saw that someone had stopped Casey. 

Suddenly, the young man made a beeline for an ambulance. Mikey felt hope and dread when he realized that Casey had probably found his sister. Hope because he had found her, and dread that she was in an ambulance. Casey disappeared from view, and Mikey went back to the alley they had planned to meet in. 

Waiting on a fire escape, he finally saw Casey push his way through the crowd, pulling along a young girl protectively. Mikey immediately retreated into the shadows, out of sight from the newcomer. Casey pulled out his phone, and Mikey felt a slight buzz against his shell as a message reached the cell in his belt. 

He pulled it out and glanced at the screen briefly. "I found her, but I don't have anyone to leave her with." Looking down, he could see Casey talking quietly with the girl. He thought for a moment, and had an idea. "We could leave her with April's dad?" He typed back. 

After Casey checked his phone, he looked up into the darkness and nodded, not sure where to look exactly. Mikey sent another message hastily. "I'm heading there now. You guys should go too." 

Mikey started running over to the street where April lived. It was a nicer part of town, he noticed. The streets became brighter as he neared the apartment. There were less people on the street, and the ones that were out didn't look as shady. 

All the buildings seemed okay, they weren't in as bad of shape. When he noticed the lack of flashing lights and sounds of distress, a thought popped into his head. He grinned as he vaguely remembered Donnie explaining that there were older and newer parts of the city. 

"The newer buildings are probably more safe." He whispered to himself. As April's apartment came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief. The building was mostly unharmed, and a soft glow lit the windows. 

He scaled down the fire escape from the roof and gently opened the window to April's room. He gasped as he entered, looking at her belongings strewn across the room. "It looks like a tornado went through here." He joked to himself. He went to leave the room, but a small rectangular object caught his eye. 

Moving over to the nightstand where the object had fallen from, he carefully avoided the fragments of glass that had once been a lamp. He picked up the object, which ended up being a picture frame. 

A blonde woman smiled back at him with mischief in her eyes, holding a small child in her arms. The woman's slender fingers were grabbing at the little girl's stomach, causing her to howl and wriggle with laughter as she was mercilessly tickled. Realizing that the little girl was April, he felt a lump grow in his throat. He carefully set the picture back on the nightstand and left the room. 

He went down the stairs, moving into the living room where he heard distressed muttering. April's father was pacing in front of a sofa, pressing his phone to his ear, his knuckles white with worry. Mikey cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, Mr O'Niel?" 

The man jumped and spun around quickly, bringing his arm back to throw the phone at the owner of the unexpected voice. "Woah! Calm down, okay? It's just me!" 

Without moving an inch, Kirby shouted at the intruder. "Where is April?!" 

Mikey flinched away from the anger in his voice, biting his lip. "S-she's okay. She is at the lair, alright?" Kirby held his phone out with a shaking hand. "Why won't she answer?" He asked angrily. 

"Her phone got broken during the earthquake." Mikey shot back, trying to stay calm for April's father's sake. Kirby stared at the small turtle with wide eyes. "It's been over two days!" He exploded. "Why hasn't she come home?" 

Mikey groaned inwardly. He had been hoping to avoid this... "Yeah, about that. Her and Leo are kinda...stuck in the living room. She isn't hurt, and Donnie is working really hard to get them out." He mentally patted himself on the back. That was pretty good thinking on his part, he thought proudly. 

Kirby blew his breath out harshly. "When will she be coming home?" Mikey tapped his foot thoughtfully. "Most likely in about two or three days. Donnie said he needed to make sure the rubble wouldn't shift." 

The man's face paled, and Mikey hurriedly moved onto a new subject. "In the meantime though, we were wondering if you could look after someone!" Just as the words left his mouth, a knock came from the front door.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress is made back at the lair!

Chapter 21

"Guys, you are okay, right?" 

April groaned at Raph's well meant, yet irritating question. What they should have done, she thought tiredly, was gather everyone here all at once announce their conditions only one time. The constant worry was touching, but exhausting at the same time. 

Leo answered when April fell back on the bed, shaking her head back and forth with an expression of disbelief plastered to her face. "Yeah, we're f-fine. I'm just feeling a l-little weird, just a little d-dizzy and shaky." As he looked back at his hands, he winced. A little shaky might be a bit of a stretch...

"What about you, Raph? I heard you broke your leg...how are you holding up?" Raph glanced down at his encased leg. "Eh, it hurts, but it will be fine." Leo peeked out of the hole to look at the white plaster around Raph's leg. "How did you get Donnie to let you out of bed?" He asked. Frankly, he was astonished that he had seen Raph at all. 

Raph huffed a short laugh. "Yeah, I kinda snuck out. I used his staff as a crutch," he added with a smirk. "He...he wasn't that thrilled. But he let me see you, which is a plus." 

Leo rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yeah, only because you were already here." A small silence settled over the area until April sat up. 

"Mikey and Casey went to the surface, right? Have you heard anything from them?" 

Raph nodded. "From what we could gather, they stopped at Casey's place to check on his family. He found his sister...Mikey texted me. Apparently their game plan is to get your dad to watch her for a while." 

April sighed heavily in response. "So they found him? He's okay, right?" Raph pulled out his phone, glancing at the few texts regarding the man. "From what I can figure out, he is fine. Really angry and worried, but fine." 

April winced, suddenly feeling very sorry for whoever had to fill her father in on her whereabouts. "Yikes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sharp rapping came from the door, and both Kirby and Mikey froze. "What did you say?!" The man whispered harshly, approaching the door fearfully. "You want me to take care of someone?" He looked at the door, and turned back to Mikey. 

"Who do..." The words faded on his lips as he faced nothing but air. The turtle had simply disappeared from sight. "I know you're in here," he hissed. Throwing his hands up in the air, he walked back to the door and threw it open. The annoyed expression on his face slipped away as he saw the two people occupying his doorway. 

"C-Casey! Are you alright?" Kirby looked down to see a small girl hiding slightly behind the young man. "Who is this?" He asked, bending down to smile at her. Big, watery blue eyes stared back at him. 

"Mr. O'Niel, this is my little sister. I need to go help some friends," he said emphatically. "And I was wondering if you could watch her for a while." Kirby stood back up, eyeing Casey skeptically. 

"What about your parents, Mr. Jones?" Casey's face flushed with frustration. He ignored the question, and turned to his sister, who was clutching the back of his shirt nervously. "Hey, it's alright. Remember when I told you about my friend April?" The girl nodded, eyes still fixed on her shoes. 

"This is her dad. He is a nice guy. Go sit on the couch, alright? I'm just going to talk to him for a bit." She hesitantly let go of Casey and trudged over to the couch. 

"Okay," Casey said. "Let's get one thing cleared up. We don't have a mother, and our father..." He snorted in mock amusement. "Let's just say that he isn't a model parent. You are the only one I can trust right now. Please, just look after her so I can help get April out." 

Kirby frowned and ran his hand through his thinning hair. "Okay. Okay, just...keep in contact." Casey clapped the older man on the shoulder roughly. "Thank you. Keep her safe for me. We'll work on rescuing April, she will be home before you know it." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donnie grumbled in frustration. "This would be so much easier if I could just look on my files on the computers..." He lifted the thick book from his lap, setting it on top of a growing pile as he eyed the open panel to the generator. "Maybe..." 

He quickly crawled over to the exposed wiring and glanced inside. "I'm almost done," he reasoned. "It wouldn't take too long to finish repairs..." He checked the time quickly. "Ugh, I really should get back to Raph...his time is almost up." 

Deciding that getting electricity back to the lair was more important than a little deadline, Donnie pushed the concern away. "It's time to get you up and running again..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sharp popping noise filled the lair accompanied by short bursts of sparking light. Leo instinctively covered his head as Raph and April yelled in alarm. Eventually, the flickering evened out, flooding the spaces with light. A faint whoop of excitement reached their ears from the lab as the light didn't fade out again.

"Uh, ow..." April squinted, struggling to force her eyes open and failing miserably. Leo covered his face with his arm, not really willing to open his eyes either. "So," he started. "I g-guess Donnie fixed the e-electrical problem." 

April stood, searching blindly along the wall for a light switch. "These. Need. To. Turn. Off!" She exclaimed. She wiped her watery eyes on the back of a dusty arm. 

Raph looked through the hole, eager to see the exposed state of the room. "Yeah, you aren't going to find the light switch April. It isn't there anymore." She groaned and stumbled back towards Leo, covering her head with a blanket. 

"Well, at least we can see better now," he tried to reason. April shook her head violently, her voice muffled by the blankets. "No," she said in a biting tone. "Now I can't see at all." 

She wasn't actually upset, she thought to herself. She grinned into the blankets as she remembered the brief sound of triumph Donnie had made when the lights came back on. Regaining electricity was a good sign of progress.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Donnie grinned up at the lights ecstatically. "Yes! Woohoo, I am awesome!" He immediately flushed as he realized that everyone in the lair had most likely heard his outburst. 

"Okay, now that that's done, it's time to go get Raph." He threw the equipment surrounding the generator into his toolbox and took off his headlamp. "Oh, electricity is the best..." he said as he left the room. 

He walked slowly to the kitchen, tallying up the repairs he would have to make that were now made visible. Sounds of conversation came from around the corner, and Donnie felt a sharp pang of guilt that he was going to disrupt the comfortable moment.

He cleared his throat gently. "Alright Raph, you've had your fun. Back to resting now." Surprisingly, the hotheaded turtle nodded agreeably and allowed himself to be supported as he rose to a standing position. 

Raph spoke earnestly before he left. "We'll get you out, and then we'll get you two fixed up, good as new." Soft words of appreciation came from Leo and April as Raph was led away. "I'll be right back," Donnie called over his shoulder. "Then we can look you over Leo." 

They struggled back to the lab, and Raph's eyes widened as he saw the extent of the damage for the first time. "Well, it ain't as bad as I thought it could be, but at the same time it's almost worse..." Donnie nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. 

The whole time, he could feel and partially see the destruction. He knew logically about what he would be dealing with, but the darkness had played tricks on his mind. At times, he would be thinking that the damage was extremely extensive, but since he couldn't see it, a part of him hoped that it wouldn't be too bad.

They made it to the lab where Raph was again confined to his bed. "If you pull another stunt like that Raph," Donnie said threateningly. "I will strap you down to the bed." Raph nodded his understanding, knowing full well that it was not an idle threat. It had been done before. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, it's fine. Mr. O'Niel is a good dad. He will take care of you. If you need anything, he will help you out, okay?" She stared back at him, trying to put on a brave face, blinking back the nervous tears that threatened to spill over her freckled cheeks. 

As her chin wobbled, Casey nearly changed his mind. The guys and April could handle the situation themselves, right? He had other obligations...but they had helped him out so many times before...they really did need him. 

He sighed heavily. "I need to go help other people who were hurt in the earthquake. They are lost too, and need to be with their families. Will you let me help them?" He wiped away a tear that had rolled down his little sister's cheek with his thumb. 

"Y-yeah..." She said quietly. "They are probably scared and lonely...I want you to help." He reached down and enveloped the small girl in a tight hug. "I love you, okay? I will be back before you know it." With that, he gave Mr. O'Niel another thankful glance and walked out into the hallway. 

As he went into the alleyway alongside the apartment, he whisper shouted to the turtle hiding in the shadows. "Mikey, where are you?" A light thud on his right told him that Mikey had landed nearby. "Are you okay with this?" The orange banded turtle asked softly. "She looked like she really needed you..." 

Casey nodded. "I know that she will be safe with April's dad. I need to focus on the people who are...not safe yet." Mikey smiled, satisfied with the answer. "Let's go shopping." He said brightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Splinter hovered over the laptop as Donatello and April examined Leo. "Okay April, check to see of his eyes dilate correctly...just shine the flashlight." She gently brought up the flashlight to Leo's face, slowly passing the light over his pupils a few times. 

"Okay, good." Donnie said. "We can rule out most head injuries. They are always unpredictable though..." He crossed out some conditions on his notepad. He was trying earnestly to hide his worry. Many terrible conditions glared out at him, the most concerning to be Multiple Sclerosis. 

The more he thought about Leonardo's symptoms, the more he worried. He run them through his mind at least a thousand times. Dizziness, disorientation, headaches, and now numbness and tingling in his limbs. Not only was he losing feeling, but it was also becoming increasingly difficult to control his movements and trembling. 

Donatello hadn't voiced his fears to anyone as of yet, but the more he considered the possibility of MS, the more likely it seemed. "Alright, the next thing to check for is an ear infection, mainly in the inner ear." He passed a small otoscope to April. Instead of a lens however, he had placed a camera on the inside, right behind the speculum. 

"Right..." April paused, otoscope in hand. "Where do I even?" Leo laughed a bit and slid aside the band of his mask, revealing a small slit. "Oh!" She said in suprise. "So, could you guys wear glasses if you needed to?" She inserted the speculum into Leo's ear gently as she spoke. 

"Yeah, we could make it work." Donnie said. He looked at the screen, examining the ear canal to see if there was any bulging or redness behind the eardrum. Leo moved a bit in discomfort. "That tickles." Donnie laughed, finding that his right ear was fine. "Well, at least it doesn't hurt," he said. "It would feel a lot worse if you had an ear infection." 

Donnie sighed in frustration after finding that the other ear was also perfectly healthy. "Ugh. I can't find anything wrong with you! It wasn't anemia, or head trauma, or an ear infection." He took the otoscope back from April. 

"Leo, put your hand through here please." He grasped his brother's hand, which was shaking and weak. "Leo, I want you to squeeze my hand every time I tap this pencil, alright?" Leo nodded to the camera, still trembling all over. 

Donnie started tapping his pencil on the ground in random intervals, while Leo's fingers weakly tightened on his hand, horribly off beat. Donnie released his hand, which was pulled back tiredly into the hole. "That was annoyingly hard." Leo said in a shaky voice. 

No kidding, Donnie thought as his concern continued to mount. He stood, picking up the laptop. "Okay, I'm just going to go over this. I'll tell you if I find anything." He motioned for Splinter to follow him as he returned to the lab.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mikey smiled at the completed pile of bags Casey had collected. "Well, that's everything from the list, except Donnie's contributions." Mikey started to line his arms with the plastic grocery sacks, trying to hold as many as he possibly could. Casey chuckled and grabbed the last five bags before Mikey could get any more. "Yeah, Donnie's stuff is going to have to come after this. He looked at the scrap of paper again. "I don't think that support beams are going to fit in the bags..." 

They returned to the intact tunnel and headed to the lair excitedly. Mikey jumped over the turnstiles, yelling happily. "We got the stuff guys!" He noticed with a start that the lights were back on. "Woah..." He looked at the mess of the lair in awe. 

"Casey, I forgive you for the street sign, and for what you do to our furniture and my videos." Casey walked up behind him and stared as well. "Yeah, well, at least this time it wasn't my fault, right?" 

Mikey smiled. "Yeah, I doubt you could trash a place up this bad." He snapped his mouth shut nervously as a sly grin appeared on Casey's face. "Is that a challenge?" 

"No! It is most definitely NOT a challenge! Go trash someone else's house, ours has had enough of a beating as it is!" Casey shrugged and headed down the much traveled path to the kitchen. "Let's go see April and Leo."

Casey set the bags down next to the opening and turned to watch Mikey peel the plastic handles away from his arms. Dark green crossing stripes were indented all the way up to his elbows. "Ha! Man, look at your arms!" Mikey looked down and smiled. "Dude, I should get this tattooed." 

Leo spoke up suddenly. "Mikey, you are not getting anything tattooed." Mikey waved his hand dismissively. "I know, they use needles for that. We got a bunch of stuff for you guys." He passed the small green hairbrush they had found through, and April accepted it enthusiastically. 

"Thanks Mikey, my hair was getting all ratty." He heard the bristles faintly tugging their way through the snarls and smiled. "No problem. We also have toothbrushes for everyone. He dug around in the bag until he found the two he was looking for. 

"I got a blue one for you Leo, and a yellow one for April!" He passed the plastic packaging through as well. "We kept looking until we could get color coded ones too! Oh yeah, here's some toothpaste." 

"Yes!" Both of them exclaimed, tearing open the plastic. They promptly brushed their teeth and swallowed the toothpaste before swishing with water. "Oh, that is so much better!" April smiled, showing off her clean teeth. "Thanks you guys. I know there is a lot going on right now, and I appreciate that you took the time..." 

Mikey sat down on the mattress again. "It was no problem. I was just thinking that it would really suck being in there, I wanted to make it a little easier." 

"I don't know about you guys," Leo piped up, "but I'm feeling really tired. Could you get Donnie to somehow turn off the lights in here, just while we sleep?" April nodded along with Leo. "Yeah, I mean, light is great, but not for sleeping." 

Casey nodded and went to the lab. Soon, Don was finding a breaker box and shutting down their corner of the lair. As everyone settled in for another long night, Donnie shut off the list in his lab for Raph before turning on his small desk lamp. 

He sat down heavily and spread out a large blueprint sheet depicting the collapsed wall. He was completely prepared to spend all night going over probabilities in his head to find the safest supporting structure possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get INTENSE guys...


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> INTENSITY INTENSIFIES!!!!

Chapter 23

A sharp, quiet gasp escaped Leo's mouth as he lay on the cushions. He bit his lip as pain laced its way through his abdomen yet again. He winced, mostly used to the pain that had been waking him up all night. It had started faintly, but the muscle spasms and cramps had slowly escalated. 

A muscle in his arm twitched, tensing painfully. He stifled another groan as a wave of nausea swept through his body, leaving him feeling weak and sick. His tremors had reached a platoon, leveling out enough to leave his body a trembling, shaking wreck. 

The tingling numbness in his fingers and toes had grown, and his thoughts felt fuzzy and confused. Suddenly, various muscles in his legs cramped up, and Leo groaned in pain. 

He bit down on his tongue, which felt heavy and useless in an attempt to stop the sound. He suddenly wondered that, if he tried to speak, would it sound right? His tongue felt uncooperative, so he doubted that it would. 

He pressed his lips tightly together, hoping that the pathetic noise he had made hadn't woken anyone. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as April continued to sleep soundlessly. 

He drifted back off to sleep as his muscles calmed down, merely preparing for another episode, shivering as a sudden heat filled his limbs, making him sweat uncomfortably. The sensation balanced between hot and cold as he shivered at the fire racing through his veins. 

Maybe it would be best to wake someone. The thought appeared in his mind blearily as his teeth chattered loudly. As if on cue, April stirred, and sat up. 

"Leo? Are you alright?" She asked sleepily. Seeing as April was awake, Leo allowed a slow, quiet moan of pain to leave his body in a deep exhale. She was by his side in an instant.

"Leo?! You don't sound too good." She placed her hand on his forehead, checking for a fever but finding none. 

"What hurts?" She asked soothingly. 

"uuhhnn...mm-my legs...mmh, too uh..h-hot..." Inappropriate amusement nearly caused him to laugh, his speech really wasn't working too well. 

April's eyes widened at Leo's slurred speech. "Okay." She said, trying to stay calm. "We'll get Don." 

She walked over to the opening and talked loudly, trying to wake up Mikey. "Mikey, get up!" 

The young turtle sat up in alarm, fully awake at the serious tone in April's voice. "What?" He asked quickly. 

"Leo's getting worse, we need Donatello." 

Mikey jolted into a standing position and left to find his brother wordlessly. April turned back to Leo. "What else can you tell me? Where does it hurt?" 

Leo's eyes found April's face, looking unfocused and confused. 

"Everythingsss...spinning..." He slurred tiredly. "Hard...um, hard to...focus. Hot and cold...ugh, muscles cramping..." He tensed as the spasms started again, starting in his abdomen and spreading outwards.

April stroked his arm nervously. "Okay, don't push yourself. Donnie will fix this." 

Leo shook his head in confusion. "Am, am I si...ck?" He frowned as he tried to move his hands, which lay unresponsive and unfeeling. 

"Y-yes, and you're hurt. Donnie will get you better as soon as he can." She was answered by a small whine as Leo tried to suppress another shudder. "I-I can't...feel my h...hands."

She heard feet slapping on concrete as Mikey returned with help. Donatello knelt down by the opening, breathing heavily. "Is he responsive?" He asked urgently. 

"Yes, but just barely. He is really out of it." April fought down the tremor in her voice as she filled him in on Leo's condition. "He says that he is feeling hot and cold, but I can't find a fever. His muscles are cramping up too, and he said he can't feel his hands. He said that he can't think straight, and is acting really confused."

Donnie dropped his laptop onto the ground in a hurry and flipped it open, powering on the camera. "April, grab the camera and aim it at Leo." 

Leo's shaking, shivering form came into view. Don's breath caught in his throat as he took in his older brothers eyes. They were glassy and unfocused, moving randomly as if trying to get his world to stop tilting. 

His mouth was set in a tight line of pain. "Leo, can you move your fingers?" His head tilted back and forth weakly, indicating that he couldn't. "D-Donnie, I... I don't f-feel...good..." 

"I know, it's okay. I will get you out as fast as I can." He looked to the opening and addressed April. "Have him take these mild painkillers. It's all I can do for right now, but with him deteriorating like this, I need to focus on extracting you two as soon as I possibly can." 

After instructing April on the dosage, he turned back to Mikey. "Take Casey with you to the surface while it's still dark. Go get those support beams as quick as you can. Check our usual scavenging sites, they will have what I need." Mikey nodded and went to get Casey. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Splinter spread out the blueprints on the floor beside his son as he continued welding the metal supports into place. After nearly six hours of nonstop welding, the metal beams were pressed up against the collapsed wall tightly. A loud clang sounded from the entrance, announcing yet another delivery of supplies. Donnie shut off the blowtorch and turned to his errand boys. 

"We got more beams." Mikey said in an anxious tone. "We found some skinnier pipes too, and some sheets of metal." Casey held up a bag that clanked noisily. "Here are some heavy duty screws and bolts. I didn't know if they would come in handy, so I just grabbed them." 

"Thanks guys, this will really help!" Not wasting any time, Donnie glanced over the new materials. "Is there anything I can help you with, Donatello?" He frowned as his son's bloodshot eyes turned towards him. "No Sensei, I'm fine. I just need to finish the fine tuning of the supports. We should be able to get them out by tomorrow." 

He turned the torch back on, connecting two large particularly beams with a cross section. He knew that he needed rest, but any time that he spent sleeping was more time that April and Leo had to be trapped. Four days was already unacceptable in his mind, and he refused to fail them further.

He hissed under his breath as his vision wavered, his eyes threatening to close. "I need caffeine," he muttered quietly, the sound of the blowtorch drowning out his words. 

He vaguely heard his father leave the room as he struggled to concentrate on the sparking metal in front of him. More then anything, his worry for Leo was keeping him from sleeping. Possibilities continuously popped up in his mind, ranging from bad outcomes to worse. 

After Leo had started to complain of muscle spasms, Donnie's mind had flashed back to MS. It was illogical that such a disease would choose to manifest itself in this particular circumstance, but possible. The need for a better and more thorough examination pressed him to work harder, faster. 

As soon as Leo was out, he would get him on medication until he fixed his equipment. "I'm going to need to monitor his brain wave activity, see if the motor functions are deteriorating..." He spoke to himself freely, aware that no one could hear him over the sound of his welding. 

Visions of a permanently disabled Leonardo flashed in his mind unbidden as he went over the outcomes of Multiple Sclerosis. "No, stop it Donatello. Focus on one thing at a time." He set his jaw in a firm line and picked up a rod, aligning it where it was needed most and went back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be full of solutions and explanations! It's almost time to wrap this thing up!!!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but at least it resolves some things! :D

Chapter 24 

Tension hung heavy in the air. Everyone was gathered at the doorway this time, despite the awful noise they knew was coming. Holding the drill in preparation, Donatello kept his eyes on the screen of his laptop. He anxiously studied the two anxious faces that stared back through the camera. 

"Guys, when I get the hole wide enough, I will tell you. Until then, stay away from the wall." He positioned the drill and his hands started to tremble with self doubt. What if it wasn't stable enough? Maybe he should spend more time going over the structure again...

A warm pressure landed on his shoulder, and Donatello looked back to his father. "Donatello, do not start doubting yourself. You have prepared well, there is nothing more you could do at this point except move forward." 

As he met Splinter's intense, trust filled gaze, he felt his resolve strengthen. 

"Thank you Sensei..." He said quietly, turning back to the wall. He felt his father move back to the doorway, giving him space. 

"Are you guys ready? This will be loud." April and Leo both nodded, preparing to cover their ears. Donnie nodded back at the screen, knowing full well that the gesture wouldn't reach them and powered on the drill. 

The grinding and screeching escalated as Donnie guided the drill in careful patterns, cutting large sections of concrete away from the opening. The wall gave a shudder, and the drill was hastily shut off and pulled away. "That shouldn't have happened." 

He stared at the widened opening, debating if the wall was stable enough for him to cut more away. Numbers ran through his head and he made up his mind. The wall wasn't going to get any more stable, and April and Leo were a safe distance away. 

He carefully resumed drilling, making sure not to shake the wall too badly. He coughed on the dust that was gathering, pausing periodically to clear broken concrete aside. Finally, he powered the drill down for the final time. 

"April, help Leo over, it's time to come out." Excitement and accomplishment filled the room when April and Leo's forms came into view. 

"Leo," April said gently." You need to slide through the hole. Donnie will help you get out from the other side." 

Leo nodded and pushed himself through, his elbows inching his body forward as his shell scraped on the top of the hole. Strong hands clasped his wrists and tugged, pulling him safely to the other side. 

Relief overwhelmed him as his family's hands were suddenly all over him, checking his leg, holding him, brushing away the dust. 

He was lifted, and pressed against his father's chest. Comforting nonsense filled his ears as his brothers and father checked over him.

Donnie, assured that his brother was in one piece, reached in the hole for April as well. She made it out easily, the space had been made big enough for Leo's shell. Donnie helped her up and was suddenly pushed backwards from the force of her embrace. 

"Thank you, thank you..." Her words came out choked as she clung to him. 

Donnie reached up and placed a hand on her back comfortingly. He felt warm tears against his skin and pulled away in concern. 

"April, are you hurt?" He quickly looked her down, stopping as she laughed and patted his arm. 

"N-no, I'm fine," she sniffed and wiped at her cheeks. "I just...I missed being able to touch you." Her face heated up at her choice of words. 

She hurried to elaborate. "It's just, you're always there to make things better. I started to rely on you for comfort, and it was hard to not have that..." 

Donatello flushed as well at her words, grinning like a madman. "O-oh. I'll a-always be here if you n-need me..." 

He trailed off as April took his hand in hers, lacing her small fingers between his. "Let's go help Leo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm missing something. I have to be missing something!" Donnie shuffled frantically through the data from Leo's brain scan. 

"He shouldn't be deteriorating like this! There is nothing that would cause this! It doesn't match up with anything!" 

He studied the brain wave readings he had taken from Leo earlier that morning. After retrieving the injured turtle, Don had hooked him up on an IV drip and searched for the helmet he had made back at the farmhouse, which he found in a cabinet. 

Much to his surprise and excitement, the machine had been completely unharmed, unlike the more conventional one he usually used for checking up on concussions. He had been quick to scan Leonardo's brain activity, anxious to test for MS. 

The readings had been somewhat comforting, not matching up with anything that could indicate the illness. They had, however, been extremely bizarre, leaving the panicked turtle with no leads or possible solutions. 

They had moved Leonardo to a quiet corner of the lab in hopes that the environment would be kinder on his confused senses.

Raph watched his brother calmly from across the room. "Donnie, you need to slow down. Just think." 

Worry for his older brother was also gnawing at his own heart, threatening to throw him into a panic alongside the genius. 

"Maybe you're not missing anything. Just think...think about the variables." He smugly congratulated himself for remembering the term. 

"What things could have changed for Leo when the collapse happened?" Donnie stared at him in astonishment before turning and scribbling various changes on a notepad. 

In the midst of reexamining the recorded brainwaves, he froze. "Raph! You...you are a genius!" 

Raph breathed a sigh of relief, understanding that his brother had made a discovery. "You just realized that?" He joked obligingly. 

"It wasn't something added to his environment, or even something attacking his system," Donnie explained energetically. 

"I wasn't the one missing something! Leo was!" He ran over and sat in the chair next to Raph, showing him the scribbles he was making on the paper. 

"I was so focused on what could have been acting this aggressively towards his system that I never even considered that it could be an absence of something instead!" Raph nodded back at Donnie, waiting for further explanation. 

"It's his medication!" Donatello stood up and began pacing. 

"After around ten years of taking Zoloft, his body developed a...a sort of dependency on it. Basically, he has been going through an extremely severe and violent withdraw." 

"Okay, that's great Donnie. So we just need more, right? No problem." Raph looked up expectantly at his younger brother. 

"Well, it isn't that simple. Pharmacies are bound to be overrun after the quake, and our supply is buried somewhere in the bathroom." 

Raph glared determinedly. "Well, we will just have to dig it out!" Donnie set his face into his palm forcefully, rolling his eyes. 

"Raph, you haven't even seen the bathroom. It would take days to clear out, and even then it is probably completely destroyed." He sighed heavily. 

"Our best bet is to go to another source."


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'm almost done!!! Maybe 1 or 2 more chapters!

Chapter 25

Donnie gulped nervously as he stared at the darkened window across the street. He looked back at the note in his hand and counted the money again. They had caused this woman so much trouble throughout her life, he reflected sadly.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Donatello had followed this girl's life ever since he had traced the order code on one of the bottles back to her name.

It was partially out of guilt, he reasoned. He felt that if he watched over her, that the added safety could partially pay her back. The secret had weighed heavily on his mind through the years. He had wished he could share the girl's existence with his family so often that it hurt.

When she graduated high school with advanced diplomas, when she made it into college and met a good man, every birthday she had, he celebrated alone. The excitement for her success had nearly caused him to burst, and tell everyone about her little son who was now walking.

He felt like he knew her so well, yet knew that she would never know him. He remembered leaving toys and blankets at her window when he found out about her pregnancy, wishing that he could share his congratulations personally.

He quietly landed on the fire escape near the window and pried it open soundlessly. He slipped into the darkened hallway, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He stood motionlessly in the foreign space, mapping out the area. He slowly moved down the hallway until he found the bathroom.

Don breathed a sigh of relief when he found it, relieved that it wasn't connected to her bedroom. He softly opened the door and went to the highest cupboard, over the toilet. He slid it open to reveal many types of medicine.

"Tylenol, antibiotics, allergy relief..." He muttered under his breath as he pushed the containers around. Finally, he found a small orange bottle and picked it up feeling triumphant, he read the label and sighed. "Aderoll. Her son must have an attention deficit disorder."

He reached further back and pulled out the right one. He set the bottle of Zoloft on the counter and rearranged the bottles the way he had found them. Don gently set the note on the counter, placing the money underneath. He tucked the bottle into a pouch at his hip and turned to leave.

As Donnie exited the bathroom, he heard a small click of a door being opened. He frantically looked around for anywhere to hide, but found none. Out of options, Donatello glanced towards the ceiling, considering the narrow hallway.

He quickly placed his feet on either side of the hallway walls and climbed up. He reached his arms up as well and flattened himself as best he could against the ceiling.

The door at the end of the hallway opened, revealing a small, red headed woman. Her black tank top hung loosely off her shoulders, revealing the extensive pattern of freckles dotted against her skin. She glanced around the hallway in confusion, making her way to the bathroom. Her tentative voice echoed quietly out into the hallway, soft and gentle as to not wake her family. "Hello? Is someone he-"

Her voice cut off, and Donatello knew she had found his note. He looked to the window, knowing he should leave while he had the chance, but something urged him to stay. The light flicked on in the small bathroom as the woman leaned against the doorframe, reading.

_You don't know us, but you are probably aware of our existence. Ever since you were ten years old, my older brother has suffered from depression. He was eight when we found out, and his illness affected our family deeply. Our circumstances prevented us from getting him proper treatment, and you somehow became that doorway._

_I wanted to thank you for everything you do for our family, even if you are not actively involved. I sincerely apologize for the confusion and distress we may have caused you, and I hope this payment will cover what we needed to take at the moment._

_I have taken the liberty to wire payments to your account every time we are forced to use you as a resource, and I apologize again for our actions. I hope that we will eventually have an understanding with each other in the future and keep this exchange open with your consent._

_It may have been flawed thinking to hope for a positive outcome, but I hope you will consider it. It would lift a burden off of all our shoulders, and lighten the guilt for the things we have done to you, especially for my older brother._

_My family and I wish you well. If you ever need anything, we will be there to help._

_With much gratitude,  
The Hamato's_

She shook her head near the end of the letter and released her lip from between her teeth where it had been firmly trapped. She looked back into the bathroom aimlessly, fingering the money in her other hand. She turned and disappeared from view. Donatello felt his heart plummet when he heard pill bottles being shoved around.

He sighed, and silently dropped to the floor, and out the window. Part of him had hoped that she would suddenly look up and find him, but he was glad that she hadn't. He closed the window and left, returning quickly back home to his ill brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo allowed himself to be pulled up into a sitting position. The blanket fell away from his shoulders and he shivered. Donnie pressed two pills to his lips, and Leo quickly opened his mouth and accepted the two small pills that fell on his tongue.

He quickly raised the glass of water to his mouth, trying to steady his hand as the liquid nearly spilled over the side, and gulped down the medicine. He pushed the glass back to Donnie weakly. "T-thanks Donnie."

Leo turned his back to his brother and covered himself with the blanket before closing his eyes. Don stared at Leo's shell worriedly before reluctantly leaving the room. Leo hadn't taken his diagnosis well at all. Before he left to get the so called cure, he had told Leo of the cause of his condition. Which had been a bad idea.

His older brother's reaction hadn't been pretty. He had immediately turned in on himself, whispering something about Bushido and gripping the blanket in white, strained knuckles.

It was then that Don remembered the argument from so long ago. He had tried to explain to his brother that he wasn't an addict, it was a normal reaction, but Leo heard none of it.

Finally Splinter had to come and calm down his hysteric son as he sobbed about his dependency. Donnie had told Leo that he would work with him to wean him off the drug, but explained that he would have to resume his medication if the depression returned.

Since that conversation, Leo had barely spoken a word to anyone. Donnie made up his mind, and went to find Splinter.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

April sighed heavily from her position in the kitchen. She leaned her head back against the smooth wood of the counter and picked at a piece of shattered tile. She was supposed to stay put until Donnie had given her the all clear. 

After they had been pulled out of the rubble, it was unquestioned that Leo was their first concern. It wasn't as though she didn't understand, she just felt...abandoned. Everyone had rushed to make sure that the injured turtle was okay, leaving her dazed and confused. 

Mikey was the first to comeback and talk to her after things settled down, and she appreciated the gesture. They had talked for a while, and joked with one another. It had relieved a lot of tension.

April closed her eyes and flicked a chunk of tile across the floor, listening as it skittered to a stop against crumbled stone. 

The comforting conversation had been cut short when shouts for Splinter filled the lair, coming from the lab. Donatello's panicked voice scared her as she ran behind Mikey to see what was wrong. 

The sight she was greeted with had startled her. Leo was cradled up against Master Splinter's chest, sobbing while his brothers watched on anxiously. Unsure if her presence would be welcomed in such a private family moment, she had fled back to the kitchen, listening as the wails subsided. 

When Mikey returned, his cheeks wet and he immediately curled up next to April, sniffling as he laid his head on her leg. She patted his arm and rubbed his shell soothingly as she watched Donatello run from the lair in a hurry. 

She sat up straighter as her eyes became unfocused and blinked several times to rid herself of the drowsiness. She looked down at the smaller turtle resting on her lap and resumed rubbing his shell. Suddenly, quick footsteps approached and passed the doorway in a rush. 

April stared for a moment, and finally registered that Donatello just ran by. She bit her lip and looked back to Mikey, who was sleeping lightly with a small frown creasing his face. 

April gingerly wiggled her hands under his head and scooted her numb leg out. Gently, she set his head down on the floor, feeling pretty guilty and limped to the doorway, hissing in discomfort as blood rushed back to her deprived limb. 

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Donnie turned the corner quickly, coming face to face with a very anxious April. He halted, barely able to stop himself from crashing into her and backed up a few steps. "A-April! Sorry, I should watch where I'm going..." 

April frowned thoughtfully as he trailed off. "Donnie, is Leo going to be alright?" Donnie snapped his mouth shut and simply nodded. "And am I alright? I don't want to seem...like a horrible person, but I really want to go see my dad." 

Donatello quickly looked her over, and nodded curtly. "I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. I should have cleared you a long time ago." He looked past April and into the kitchen where his little brother was curled up on the floor. 

"Mikey and Casey will get you home alright." He suddenly looked around in surprise. "Wait, where is Casey?" April joined him in glancing around, her eyes landing on a form slouched against the wall near the turnstiles. She pointed, directing the turtles gaze gently. "He's over there...it looks like he is sleeping." 

April and Donatello glanced at each other as they both had the same thought. Don walked over to the worn out vigilante, suddenly wanting nothing more then to collapse in exhaustion alongside him. 

He bent down and shook Casey gently. "Casey, the coast is clear." Eyes shot open from behind the mask and he sat up quickly. He glanced up at Don, his neck straining at the angle. 

"You don't have to stand watch Casey, no one is going to come down here." Casey groaned and stood up, rubbing his back a little. "Well, you never know. You guys aren't exactly at full strength right now." He clapped Don on the shoulder and walked over to April. "Hey Doc. Is she ready to head home now or what?" 

With a nod, Donnie walked back to the kitchen to wake Mikey. He felt bad as he shook him awake, knowing that they were all severely sleep deprived. "Mikey, I need you to take April home." Mikey sat up and yawned, nodding behind his hand. 

"Okay, and then can I sleep?" Donnie smiled tiredly, understanding his exhaustion. "Yep, then you can sleep." Mikey went out to meet April and Casey, walking out of the lair slowly. 

Don started walking back to the hallway to get to Splinter's room when he heard Raph talking loudly from the lab. Rubbing his forehead in exasperation, he stumbled to the doorway.

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Raph glared at his leg, which was throbbing unbearably. It felt wrong somehow, and a hint of worry caught in his chest. He thought about his little adventure nearly two days before, and wondered if he had somehow caused more damage to the bone. 

Donnie told him it was his fibula that had shattered, but that the tibia had only broken in two places. Raph's eyes wandered back to the darkened corner of the lab, where Leo was currently sulking. Don had retreated quickly after giving the Zoloft to their older brother. 

Raph felt a familiar surge of anger towards Leo, frustrated about his earlier meltdown. As usual, stupid fearless was complicating things for himself. He snorted and rolled his eyes, moving his gaze away from the heavy atmosphere surrounding Leonardo. 

Even if Leo managed to get himself off his meds, Raph knew that he would only end up dragging himself back down again. Depression wasn't something that simply went away over time. Leo thought he could beat it alone, but Raph could see his brother's self loathing already suffocating the light around him. 

A horrible, more intense pain than the continuous throbbing abruptly flashed through his leg as he shifted. Raph closed his eyes against the pain and gripped the sides of the mattress tightly. The sound of his teeth grinding together reached his ears quickly as he lay back against the cushions. 

"Urg...is it really supposed t-to hurt this much?" He spoke loudly, half hoping for Donatello to hear him, half talking to himself. As if on cue, Don came around the corner, rubbing his eyes and addressing Raph expectantly. "Did you say something?" 

Donnie raised his eyes to look at the hothead when he heard an angry groan in response. "Raph!" Donnie rushed to his side, looking nervously at his ashen face, which was lined with pain. "What is it?" 

Raph groaned again, loosening his grip on the rumpled sheets a bit before slowing his breathing. He scowled back at his leg and spat, "I barely moved the stupid thing and it felt like I broke it all over again." 

It was Don's turn to pale as he thought of the possibilities. "Raph, I told you not to move too much!" His voice held no anger, but was filled instead with worry. 

"This time, I am deadly serious. Stay put, I will get in contact with April's father, try and see if he can get me an X-ray machine that isn't smashed to pieces."

Raph nodded shakily as Donnie slid his bo into place along his shell. As Donnie left, he cast a backwards glance in Leo's direction, knowing better than to disturb him at the moment. That was a job for Splinter. 

He shook his head and approached Splinter's door. He knocked softly, hoping to share his concerns quickly so he could call April's home, or at least get in contact with someone. 

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Splinter paused in gathering broken shards of glass from the ground when a tentative knock came from his door. He moved the pile carefully to the side and slid open the door. Donatello stood there, looking uncertain and worried. 

His gaze softened, and he moved to the side, inviting his son in. He spoke as Donnie quickly stepped into the room, facing the wall. "What can I help you with, Donatello?" The young turtle bit his lip and turned back to his father. 

"I think that it would be best if you spoke with Leo again. I knew that this was a hard experience for him, but now he is blaming himself for things that couldn't be helped. Even with him being back on the medication, the Zoloft barely doesn't have much of an effect on him anymore. His body has sort of accepted and regulated most of it. That is why we up the dose every once and a while." 

He paused and took a breath before continuing. "Really, all it is doing for him right now is preventing him from going through a withdrawal. Leo wants to go off of his medication for good, but I wouldn't advise it. Depression doesn't really ever go away. He had a really good period for a while, but he could easily have a relapse." 

Splinter considered his son quietly, agreeing wholeheartedly with every word. "All I'm saying Sensei, is to somehow get Leo to stop blaming himself for this." Donnie paused, frowning. "Actually, that will be a pretty hard thing to do. He blames himself for everything." 

Splinter chuckled in agreement before turning to the door. "Very well. I will speak to Leonardo. I believe he needs to live the Bushido code in the form I taught it in, not his self imposed version." 

Splinter paused outside the door, allowing Donatello to exit before sliding it shut. "I will worry about Leonardo's emotional state. For now, do what you need to in order to help your older brothers heal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will wrap this up by the next chapter, I swear!!!
> 
> EVEN IF IT HAS TO BE A HUGE, GIGANTIC CHAPTER, IT WILL BE THE LAST!!!


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this turned out to be a very long chapter, but I kept my promise! 
> 
> Let's wrap this thing up guys!!!

Chapter 27

Raph flinched as the heavy, cold material was laid over his uninjured leg. "Sorry Raph, I just need to get a few pictures. This will keep the radiation to a minimal area." 

Raph looked hatefully at the machine. "I really don't want ANY radiation going through my leg, thank you very much." Donnie ignored him and moved the head of the machine so the lens was over the cast. "Hey, can you even get an X-ray with a cast on?" 

His younger brother immediately lit up, eager to explain the procedure. "Yes, the radiation will go right through the cast and to the bone. It won't be as clear as a picture without a cast, but not by much." He walked around the corner with the portable controls. 

"Okay Raph, I just need you to stay still for a minute aaand..." The machine made a weird humming noise and then fell silent. "Alright, you're done Raph." 

He lifted the lead shield off of his brother and wheeled the equipment over to Leo cautiously. "Leo, how that I have the equipment, I would like to take a look at your bone as well." 

Leo said nothing, but rolled onto his back to give Don access. Don sighed, slightly frustrated that his father had not spoken to Leonardo yet. He had said he wanted to meditate about it, and he understood that he was moving towards the subject, if not a little slowly. 

Don covered Leo in the material and quickly repeated the process, getting multiple shots of his older brother's injury. He set the machine to the side and went over to his laptop, where the images had been sent. Don hooked his ankle around his chair that was a few feet away and rolled it under him, sitting down distractedly. 

He pulled up Leo's files, wanting to see the injury that he had the least experience with first. The bones themselves were still intact, but the fibula had a large gash on the outside of the bone. 

"Yeah, that's where the metal was..." He said to himself quietly. The sharp edge of the metal had most likely wedged itself into the bone as it entered. It was kind of like an axe blade being stuck in wood, he thought. 

The bone was nicked, but not broken. As long as the wound remained sanitary, infection shouldn't set in. Don minimized Leo's files with a sense of relief, happy that there should be no complications for Leo. 

He pulled up Raph's images next, and stared at them hard. The fragments were mostly aligned, but Don immediately saw the problem. One of the fragments in the middle had turned sideways somehow, causing others around them to jostle as well. 

Donnie leaned back in his chair, pressing his thumbs into his eyes. He peeked back at the image, a plan forming in his head. 

He stood up and moved over to Raph. "Do you need any more painkillers Raph?" As he had expected, Raph turned down the offer. Don knew how much his leg was hurting him and shook his head. "Well too bad, you're getting them anyway." 

He walked over to his stock of recovered medicine and picked through it. "Raph, I know you hate injections, so I could give you some pills instead if you like." 

"Yeah," Raph agreed. "Any option besides needles sounds good to me." Don laughed softly as Raph quickly swallowed the painkillers. "I don't understand how you can bear a broken bone, but not a tiny injection." 

Raph frowned indignantly. "I just don't like needles!" He crossed his arms over his plastron and glared, forcing Donnie to back down. "Okay Raph." He held up his hands in a placating manner. "I need to talk to Kirby again, so I'll be back soon." 

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Splinter sat quietly in the dojo, thinking about his troubled son. Leonardo had been easier to sway when he was younger, but now his destructive ideas of honor were deeply rooted in his very character. 

Splinter felt a huge guilt for Leonardo's flawed reasoning, cursing himself for not rectifying the problem immediately. At first, he believed that his eldest was merely being hard on himself in an effort to improve, but that disciplined self rule had become distorted without Splinter's knowledge. 

It was his duty as a father and as a master to understand his sons' and keep up with their mental and emotional states. Leonardo had become...so responsible and untouchable that Splinter forgot to worry about him as well. 

He had viewed him as an invincible well of earnestness and honor, and he failed to recognize when Leonardo's positivity had been tainted. Suddenly, a timid voice broke through his concentration. "H-he gets it from you..." 

He opened his eyes to see Michelangelo standing in the doorway. "I mean, you're probably blaming yourself for this too, aren't you?" Splinter stared at his youngest son, surprised at his blatant honesty. 

He sighed and slumped slightly. "I believe you are correct my son. How can I speak to him of self blame when I am acting in a similar manner?" He trailed off, a defeated tone in his voice. 

"I have had such little experience with the feelings that plague your brother. He has taken his strong sense of responsibility and warped it into something...unrealistic. He strives for perfection in everything he does, and turns on himself when he fails to meet his own irrational expectations." 

Mikey walked forward and knelt in front of Splinter calmly. "We all have our own problems Sensei, but that doesn't mean we can't try to help others with their own." 

He sat quietly and thought for a moment. "Sensei, I think it would be best to set aside culture and tradition for now. Talk to Leo like a son, not like a student. Let him know how much he means to you, that you value him as more than just a student." 

Splinter nodded to his son slowly. "He has just applied the idea of honor and self control to things that never even existed when Bushido was created." Splinter at up straighter and smiled softly. "Thank you Michelangelo. Your words were very inspired." 

Mikey smiled and stood up. "If anyone can get Leo out of his own head, it's you father."

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Leo stared up at the ceiling blankly. Donnie had gone to the surface to April's place, so the lab was quiet and still. Except for the occasional grumble from Raph, that is. Mikey had offered to bring books or at least something to keep them occupied. 

Leo had turned down the offer, but Raph was currently thumbing his way through a small pile of magazines with shiny motorcycles plastered across the pages. As the accusing voices filled his head, he traced a small crack in the wall nearest to him.

A small noise from behind had him glancing over his shoulder. He watched as Splinter pulled Don's chair over to his cot and sat down. Leo gingerly moved his legs to hang off the side of the cot and sat up. He reluctantly faced his father, dreading the lecture he was sure to receive. 

"Splinter, I know what you are going to say," he started. "I'm sorry for being childish and-" 

Splinter cleared his throat. "I feel that I have failed you in some regards my son." He continued, drowning out Leonardo's protests. "I have realized as of late, that my often irrational sense of responsibility has affected you. As a father and as a teacher, I claim responsibility for many things that I have no control over." 

At this point, Leonardo had dropped his gaze and was listening silently and respectfully. "I failed to realize that this...habit had been adopted by my eldest son. It may have resulted from your desire to succeed, or it may have resulted from the heavy responsibility placed on you as the oldest of your brothers." 

Splinter brought his hand under his son's face, nudging Leonardo's downcast face to meet his gaze. He steeled himself, moving to the second part of the conversation. "When you were young, I taught you all the Bushido code, did I not?" Leo nodded, hesitantly meeting his father's gaze. 

"Yes. I believe that you explained the values very eloquently for a child of your age. I believed that you understood the concepts, but I was partially mistaken." 

Disappointment filled Leonardo's eyes. Splinter sighed. "I think that I need to go over Bushido again with you, my son. It is not because you have broken the code however. I fear that you have taken the teachings of Bushido too far, applying them unrealistically to your own situations. The main ones I feel I should speak to you about are Meiyo and Jisei." 

"I believe that you misunderstood the concept of Meiyo. You believe that your honor has been tainted by a condition that has plagued you since you were a child. Honor is based on honesty and integrity. You have done nothing to compromise these traits, my son. Even if you consider gaining a dependency on a chemical that your body does not regulate on its own, it was never your intention to do so." 

Splinter took Leonardo's hand in his own, holding it tightly.

"You feel that you have lost self control because of your body's inability to function without the proper medication. Jisei means controlling your actions and being aware of the decisions you are making. You did not decide to have a dependency on supplemental medications for your wellbeing. Your brain was naturally that way. Without your permission, it was removing essential chemicals that allowed you to lead a normal life. It was something you had and still have no control over."

Splinter's shoulders dropped abruptly and he spoke softly. "I don't know if anything I say will convince you of this fact, my son. I want you to know that your ailment has not caused you to lose respect in my sight. It is actually quite the opposite. I have been astonished at your perseverance over the years, pushing ahead where others would have certainly given up hope. Your condition has made your spirit strong. You have shown more determination than I ever have. I hope that you believe me when I tell you that my respect for you has grown because of your resilience." 

Leo's form shuddered as he tried to suppress the shaky cries working up his throat. "I w-will do m-my best to...accept t-that." Leo felt immense relief overcome him as his father's strong arms wrapped around his shoulders. Splinter didn't think less of him, but instead respected him. 

His entire life, Leo viewed Splinter as a perfect, nearly untouchable person, which called for the utmost respect. Now, that very person had told him that he, of all people, was worthy of his respect. That was an idea that was going to take some getting used to.

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"Well, I used to have the resources for performing an operation, but the quake kind of...limited my supplies." Don leaned back into the couch, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. Kirby was sitting on a chair across from him, listening intently. 

A soft snore came from behind the couch, where Mikey and Casey had decided to resume their naps. Casey had wanted to check on his sister, who was asleep in the O'Niel's spare bedroom, but had thought better of it when he realized that she didn't know about the turtles yet. When Donnie had showed up, they figured that whatever he needed to do was going to take a while. 

Don sat up straight again as he felt a brief falling sensation, shaking himself awake again. He pinched his arm hard and looked back at Kirby. "I don't know...I mean is there anything you could do?" The man sighed and glanced towards the bathroom when the sound of water running through the pipes stopped. "I have a few friends in the medical field. I will see what I can get you." 

"Thank you so much Mr. O'Niel. What I really need are some pins to keep Raph's bone together while it heals." He paused for a minute, hesitating to ask any more from the man. "Right now, I don't have any of the equipment to monitor his vital signs. I really would like to put Raph under for the operation, but I don't feel comfortable doing that without the right supplies."

A soft click from the hallway sounded as April stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel against her hair. She ducked back into the bathroom to hang the towel and quickly sat next to Donatello. "What are you doing here?" She said quietly, eyeing the two boys passed out on her living room floor. 

Don stared at April, not processing the question as he examined her hair. It was darker than normal, he noted as he stared at the way the wet strands fell around her face. She smelled nice, like apples. "Ahem." He jolted when April cleared her throat, and flushed at the skeptical look she was sending him. 

"Why are you here Donnie?" She asked again. Swallowing quickly, Donnie looked at his knees. "R-right. Raph's bone isn't setting properly, and I need to do a small operation on it. I was just asking your dad if he could get some equipment for me." 

"Is he alright?" She asked in concern. Donnie huffed quietly. "He's fine, but that stupid stunt he pulled when he came to see you guys messed up the healing process." Don tipped his head back, staring at the ceiling blankly. 

"It's always those two that get hurt," he whispered. "And they are the two patients that give me the most trouble." Both of them flat out refused to do what he told them to do, even if it was in their best interest. 

Maybe it was because he was younger than them. Mikey never had any problems with being told to stay in bed. He enjoyed the treatment, basking in the concern and using it to get what he wanted. 

April looked at Donnie's face carefully as he closed his eyes. Exhaustion was written clearly in his posture, and even more so on his face. His forehead was constantly creased with worry, and his mouth was set in a firm line. She knew that if she took off his mask, that there would be dark circles under his eyes as well. 

"Donnie, you need to get some rest," she said softly, touching his shoulder in concern. Don shook his head and sat back up. "Nope, no time for rest. I need to help Raph and check on Leo." April got up on her knees and pushed him back into the couch. 

"Donnie, they can wait. Everyone is out of immediate danger now, so you need to rest." Don looked pleadingly at Mr. O'Niel, who shook his head. "She's right. Anyone could tell that you have been working yourself too hard. When was the last time you slept?" 

Donatello bit his lip, adding up the days in his head. "Uh, the last time I slept was one day before the earthquake, so almost...eight?" Kirby's eyes widened at the total and he stood. "Son, how are you even conscious right now?" 

He joined his daughter in pushing him down to lie on the couch. "No, guys! Raph needs me!" Kirby shook his head firmly and looked the worried turtle in the eyes. "Think. You don't have the equipment right now, and until you get it, there isn't anything more you can do." 

April took her hands away from his chest when Donnie stopped struggling. "I will call Splinter for you, and tell him where you are, okay?" He nodded reluctantly as his eyes drooped. 

His body was betraying him, he thought indignantly. He was slightly aware of a soft weight settling over his body as a blanket was draped over him. His eyes closed, and he fell asleep quickly.

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Mikey sat up in a panic, forgetting where he was momentarily. He stood up, looking around the darkened room frantically. He froze as a soft whisper reached his ears, and he turned to the hallway. 

"Mikey, it's okay. You're at my house, remember?" April walked carefully over to him, stepping over Casey's long limbs. Mikey blinked and hugged April gently. "It was just dark..." he said quietly, his voice hoarse with sleep. 

Mikey pulled back and smiled. "You smell like apples." April giggled and rubbed his head affectionately. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" 

Mikey thought, and shook his head. "Nah, the floor wasn't very comfy...did I wake you up?" Suddenly, his voice was filled with worry. April shook her head. "No, I couldn't sleep. I heard someone moving around, so I came to see who was up." Mikey visibly relaxed and fell silent. 

April took his hand and walked to the kitchen. "Do you want some hot cocoa?" she asked as she flipped on the light. Mikey nodded and opened the fridge while April looked for the cocoa mix under the counter. 

They pulled out two mugs and watched the milk warm up in the microwave. The comfortable silence that had settled over the room was interrupted by the loud beeping of the device, which was quickly silenced. As they sat down and sipped the drinks, April spoke up.

"I wonder when my dad will get back. I mean, the hospitals and ER's have been constantly open from what I've heard. He should be able to find what he needs soon." 

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Kirby slid the key into the door and opened it quietly. The house was pitch black inside, a big contrast to the early morning light he had driven home in. He closed the door, eliminating the small amount of light and plunging the house into darkness. 

He blinked, trying to get rid of the green spots dancing across his vision. Having no such luck, Kirby carefully walked across the floor from memory, and apologized to Casey under his breath when his toe bumped into the young man's leg. 

Kirby breathed a sigh of relief as he left the room, glad that he hadn't woken anyone up. He flipped the light on in the kitchen and set down the equipment he had gathered. He checked over the small recorder to make sure it was working properly. 

As he switched the machine on, a horrible beep sounded as it searched for a heartbeat. Kirby frantically grabbed one of the cords and placed it on his chest to silence the sound. "Well, at least we know it works..." 

He turned the machine off and coiled up the wires, minding the sensors on the ends. Kirby turned back to the door and jumped when he saw Donatello in the doorway. "Do you have everything?" Donnie asked, coming over to the counter. 

Placing a hand on his chest, Kirby nodded. "You...you guys are really quiet. I didn't even know you came in the room!"

Don picked up the bag of pins and looked at them carefully. "These are good. I've read up on many types of surgeries, especially ones including broken bones. I knew that someone would need that kind eventually..." 

He bit his lip and looked back into the dark living room. "I need to get back home. I need to check up on Leo and Raph, not to mention prepping him for surgery." Donnie set the bag of pins back down and crept into the living room. He smiled when he saw that Mikey had moved from his spot on the floor. 

A purple beanbag chair had appeared in a corner of the room. April and Mikey were curled up together in the middle of the beanbag, snoring softly. Donnie stared down at April, whose arm was pinned under Mikey's neck, where she had probably been rubbing his head. 

Don shook his head in exasperation. "You really are everyone's baby brother..." he murmured softly to himself. He brushed his hand across Mikey's arm, "Mikey. I'm sorry, but we need to go home now." The smaller turtle mumbled and wriggled closer to April. 

Donnie sighed and boldly picked up a strand of April's hair. He dragged the strand across Mikey's face, who woke up immediately at the weird feeling. He rubbed his face and stared at his older brother in disbelief. "You...you tickled my face with April's hair!" 

He put his finger up to his lips to quiet his younger brother and flushed, lying the red lock back down. "Yes. I did," Donnie said, brushing off the topic as April's face crinkled slightly at the noise. He motioned for Mikey to follow him into the kitchen. 

They stepped into the brighter room and Mikey squinted a little before seeing the bag of pins. "Oh, cool! These are shiny, what are they for?" Donnie carefully took the bag back from Mikey and set them back on the counter. "If you really need to know Mikey, I am going to stick them through Raph's leg so his bone won't move." 

The orange banded turtles eyes grew bigger and he tried to grab the bag again, only to have his hand gently pushed away. "That is so awesome. Ooh! You could put some in his neck!" Mikey put his fingers up to the sides of his neck, pantomiming the ends of the pins. "Or you could put them in me! Then I would be like...Frankenstein-instein!" 

Donnie let his head fall into his palm with a loud groan. "No, we are not doing that." He picked up the more delicate equipment from the counter and motioned for Mikey to grab the rest. "We need to get this stuff home." 

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Donatello secured the last electrode to Raph's plastron and patted his arm comfortingly. Although he had already given Raph a dose of benzodiazepine to relax him before he made the secondary preparations, Raph was still conscious. 

Conscious, and very loopy. Raph blinked blearily, staring at his chest, and then raised his hand. "Thers a fish on my finguurr..." 

Don chuckled and adjusted the sensor clamp. "No, that's just a sensor to monitor your pulse among other things." Raph nodded, his eyes drooping. His eyes closed and then he jolted again. Donnie put his hand back on Raph's chest reassuringly. "You can go to sleep Raph, it's okay." 

"Mm...kay, I'm tired." Raph mumbled, then closed his eyes. Don checked the IV line again and prepared the dose of propofol. He quickly checked over Raph's vitals again before inserting the sedative into the IV line. 

After cutting the plaster cast away, Donnie went to the lab door and motioned Mikey inside. Normally, Leo would be the one to help him out with stuff like this, but his oldest brother was currently unable to stand. 

"Mikey, I'm going to need you to concentrate for me, okay?" His little brother nodded, slightly offended at the worry in Donatello's voice. "I know when it's important to not mess around! I want to help Raph. Besides, haven't I proven myself a few times during this whole thing?" 

Don blew out a breath. "Okay Mikey. So, what I'm going to do next is administer the anesthesia. It will paralyze and numb his legs. I need you to monitor his vitals, okay?" Mikey nodded and Don quickly showed him which readings were what. 

After thoroughly sanitizing Raph's leg, Donatello filled the syringe and injected the anesthetic near the main nerve site. The needle deposited a catheter when Don pulled it out, leaving a tiny opening in his upper thigh. "Okay, it should be easy from here. At least it isn't a big surgery," he said mostly to himself. 

He checked the nerve readings in the leg, making sure that his actions weren't hurting Raph before picking up the small harmonic knife. "Mikey, I'm going to need you to hand me the pins once I realign Raph's bone." Mikey nodded and laid the pins out on a tray, never taking his eyes off the readings. 

Donnie cut into the leg carefully, the heat from the knife causing the blood to coagulate immediately. He pulled back the layers of skin and muscle, revealing the comminuted bone. He moved his body between Mikey and the open leg, wanting to shield him as much as possible. 

Finally, he had straightened the bones and put the pins in place. The ends of the pins protruded from the leg and were secured by small bars that connected them. The bars basically locked the pins in place outside of the leg. He cleaned the area again, making sure that the bones were secure before closing the incision. 

"So, will you put another cast on?" Mikey asked suddenly. Don bit his lip and shook his head as he sewed the area shut. "No, these pins act like a cast, but we have to be a lot more careful with them. Keeping the pin site clean is going to be extremely important to prevent infection." 

Donnie snipped the thread and wiped off the leg, careful of the pins. "Once we take the pins out, we can put a cast back on for the rest of the healing process." 

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Leo leaned back, trying to get comfortable on the chair that was placed next to Raph's bed. His leg was propped up on a stool in an effort to ease the throbbing. Mikey and Donnie had moved some more chairs into the room from the kitchen. 

Since then, the entire family had gathered in the lab to wait for Raph to wake up. "Guys, these pins are connected to his bones. They are holding them together, kind of like a cast, but on the inside and on the outside. We have to be careful not to bump them." 

Leo, who was acting a little better, raised his hand politely. Donnie nearly snorted at the action, knowing that his older brother was acting a bit off because of the medication he was on. "Yes, Leo?"

"So..." Leo pointed to the covered area of Raph's leg. "Did you have to cut open his leg?" Donatello nodded. "Yeah, I reset the bone fragments and pinned them in place." Leo looked at his own leg, and then back to Raph's. 

Leo's eyes widened with excitement as an idea popped into his head. "Will we have matching stitches? And scars?" His older brother grinned at him expectantly, and Donnie shot Splinter an exasperated look. 

His father's eyes squinted in amusement as Donnie whispered in a horrified voice. "Leo's acting like Mikey..." 

A groan sounded from the bed and everyone turned to look at the prone turtle. Donnie stepped up to the bed and looked closely at his patient. "Raph, can you hear me?" 

Raph nodded his head and groggily opened his eyes. "D-Donnie?" He reached his hand out to the side of Don's head, moving his fingers as if he was feeling for something. 

"When did you get hair?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enormous thanks to all you wonderful, absolutely amazing people that have stuck it out to the very end! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this, and your comments not only kept me going, but they also gave me great ideas for the plot!
> 
> I love you all! Have a great day!


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